'We Keep Moving' Project Seeks Stories of People Across the Country Living With and Affected by MS

Visit www.wekeepmoving.org and Tell Your Story Today!

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Feb 12, 2010, 09:46 ET

NEW YORK, N.Y., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- For every person living with and affected by MS there is a unique story about how they move forward with their lives. That is why the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is launching We Keep Moving, a viewer-driven reality campaign that will capture these stories and perspectives through online videos that chronicle how people across the country keep moving forward while living with MS.

Tell your story today!

Starting today through February 26, people living with and affected by MS are invited to submit a story at www.wekeepmoving.org for consideration. The program aims to not only share the stories of people living with MS -- a chronic illness whose symptoms can come and go without warning -- but also caregivers, families, loved ones and those who raise funds for the cause.

Online Viewers Will Drive the Reality Campaign

A committee that includes people living with MS will review all story submissions to select the finalists. For ten weeks beginning March 9, finalist stories will be shared at the program's Web site, where the public will vote to decide which story will be filmed and where our road crew will travel next on this cross-country journey.

The road crew is made up of three creative professionals whose lives share a common bond: all of them are living with MS and are on their own journeys to share what it means to live with a disease whose hallmark is unpredictability. To learn more about these three individuals, visit www.wekeepmoving.org.

The We Keep Moving Web site and videos are supported in part by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to loss of vision 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 at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and over 2.1 million worldwide.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn't. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. In 2008 alone, through our national office and 50 state network of chapters, we devoted over $148 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested over $45 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW. Join the movement at www.nationalMSsociety.org.

To learn more about MS and your options, talk to your health care professional and contact the National MS Society at nationalMSsociety.org or 1-800-FIGHT-MS (344-4867).

About Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation researches, develops, manufactures and markets leading innovative prescription drugs used to treat a number of diseases and conditions, including those in the cardiovascular, metabolic, cancer, organ transplantation, central nervous system, dermatological, GI and respiratory areas. The company's mission is to improve people's lives by pioneering novel healthcare solutions.

For decades, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and its affiliates have made significant advances in neuroscience, changing the way we treat disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). Novartis has pioneered early breakthrough treatments for many neurological and psychiatric conditions, some of which remain important treatments to this day. In the area of multiple sclerosis (MS), Novartis is committed to working with the community to provide advanced therapeutics and novel solutions to people living with the disease.

Located in East Hanover, New Jersey, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is an affiliate of Novartis AG, which provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, preventive vaccines, diagnostic tools, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, and consumer health products. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. Novartis Group companies are headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

SOURCE National Multiple Sclerosis Society