Women Against MS Leadership Luncheon to Fund Gender-Related Research for MS

Luncheon Scheduled for Friday, November 14

RALEIGH, N.C. (November 10, 2008) -The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Eastern North Carolina Chapter is pleased to announce a $15,000 matching gift challenge from Katherine Seligmann for the Women Against MS Leadership Luncheon (WAMS) on Friday, November 14 from 12-1:30 pm at the Embassy Suites in Cary.

Since 1998, the National MS Society has funded gender initiatives which have generated new information on sex differences in disease course, the immune system, brain tissues, hormonal influences, and response to infection, and significantly increased the body of scientists pursuing these questions in MS. Exploring these and other gender-related aspects and differences is bringing new insights about the course of MS and may lead to new therapies.

Because MS affects women two to three times more often than men and pregnancy has a temporary beneficial effect on MS disease activity in women, it is suspected that estriol - an estrogen that increases naturally during late pregnancy - may be responsible for this easing of symptoms during pregnancy.

Currently, the Society is funding a team of investigators at seven medical centers who are in the recruiting stage of a two-year, controlled clinical trial of an estrogen (estriol) added to standard therapy to treat MS. If successful, this clinical trial could lay the groundwork for a larger, definitive trial that could lead to a new treatment option for women with MS, an option that would be a pill, not an injection. All money raised during the luncheon will be used to fund this initiative.

The vision of WAMS is to bring together a strong body of women to fight a disease that primarily impacts women, and to raise critical funds to support related research, education and programs.

"MS can be a devastating disease, often impacting individuals in the prime of their life," says Staci Barfield, Director of Development for the Eastern NC Chapter. "However, for the first time in history, new treatments and advances in research are giving hope to people affected by the disease. Breakthroughs in research have yielded new drugs, which promise to significantly alter the course of the disease. This luncheon will help empower the Society to continue moving forward toward a cure."

The luncheon, scheduled from 12-1:30 p.m., will feature Francine Ward as keynote speaker. Francine is a lawyer, entrepreneur, author, professional speaker, philanthropist and marathon runner who overcame extreme adversity to move forward and not only lead a successful life but to help others create amazing lives as well.

Francine will offer attendees a powerful message filled with real-life experiences, practical strategies and fresh ideas for realizing the greatness within. Francine will address how to strike a balance between being a visionary and a mover-and-shaker, as well as how to push through barriers of fear and doubt to create the life you want.

Corporate sponsorships are available at the $5,000, $3,000 and $1,500 levels. Each level includes marketing benefits and a table for 10. Individual tax-deductible tickets are $75 each. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets, please visit www.nationalMSsociety.org/nct or call 919-834-0678.

About Multiple Sclerosis:

Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and 2.5 million worldwide.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society:

MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn't. The Eastern North Carolina Chapter, located in Raleigh, serves the over 4,500 individuals affected by MS in our 49-county area. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. Each year, through our home office and 50-state network of chapters, we devote approximately $125 million to programs and services that enhance more than one million lives to move us closer to a world free of MS. In 2007, the Society invested more than $46 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW. If you or someone you know has MS, please contact the National MS Society today at www.nationalMSsociety.org/nct or 1-800 FIGHT MS to learn about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure.