April 19, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD AAN 2024: Earlier Ocrevus lowers MS progression risk over 10 years Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) continued to prevent disability progression among people with relapsing and progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) over 10 years, according to clinical trial analyses. The most pronounced benefits were observed in patients who started on the therapy in the controlled part of the trials, compared with…
April 19, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD AAN 2024: Long-term data support early Kesimpta start in relapsing MS For people recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), first-line treatment with Kesimpta (ofatumumab) was associated with a lower risk of disability progression over starting it after about 2.5 years of using Aubagio (teriflunomide). That’s according to six years of data spanning the ASCLEPIOS I (NCT02792218) and…
April 18, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD AAN 2024: Ocrevus benefits Black, Hispanic patients same as whites Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) had similar benefits in Black and Hispanic multiple sclerosis (MS) patients as earlier clinical trials with white patients did, one-year data from the CHIMES clinical trial indicates. About half of the CHIMES participants achieved no evidence of disease activity, or NEDA, which is defined as the…
April 4, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Improved fatty acid profiles tied to cognitive gains with two MS diets The Swank and Wahls diets, which are used by people with multiple sclerosis (MS), were associated with improvements in cognition and fatty acid blood profiles in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients, according to new analyses from the WAVES trial. Changes in omega-3 fatty acids after about three months correlated…
March 28, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Restoring ‘lost’ pathway of neuroprotection benefits MS mice Treatment with the neuroprotective protein HB-EGF eased inflammation and promoted tissue recovery across various disease stages in a multiple sclerosis (MS) mouse model, recent research suggests. Researchers found that HB-EGF is produced by astrocytes, a type of nerve support cell, to ease acute inflammation early on, but this protective…
March 27, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Eye tracking device for monitoring MS severity approved in Canada Health Canada has approved the commercial use of ETNA-MS, a software-based medical device that uses eye tracking to noninvasively measure disease severity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Short for Eye-Tracking Neurological Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis, ETNA-MS assesses disease severity based on a person’s eye movements. It’s intended for…
March 25, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Unmet MS care needs prevalent among patients in Italy: Survey Almost all of the nearly 700 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Italy who responded to a patient survey reported at least one unmet MS care need — ranging from insufficient access to primary care, social interactions, assistance, doctor-patient relationships, and information about the neurodegenerative disease. More than half…
March 25, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Astrocytes, much like immune cells, can drive inflammation in MS A subset of astrocytes — a type of support cell for the central nervous system — has a form of immune-related memory that might contribute to a worsening of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to recent research. Much like immune cells, these astrocytes can remember inflammatory stimuli that they previously have…
March 21, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD S1PR modulators linked to seizure risk in MS trial meta-analysis People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a twofold higher risk of seizures compared with the general population, according to pooled data from clinical trials. Among MS patients, treatment with sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) modulators, a class of MS disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that includes the oral medications Gilenya (fingolimod),…
March 19, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Antibodies against EBV viral protein help prevent infection in mice Using antibodies against a viral protein that’s needed for the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to invade human cells was found to successfully prevent viral infections and EBV-associated cancer in mice in a new study. By identifying sites where these antibodies bind to the viral protein — called gp42 — researchers…
March 18, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Cell therapy using Tregs in MS headed to Phase 2 trials in Poland The Polish biotechnology company PolTREG plans to launch Phase 2 trials testing its Tregs therapy — the T-cell-based treatment PTG-007 — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Poland later this year. The biotech company has earned a Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) certification for its new manufacturing…
March 11, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD FDA declines to approve GA Depot as treatment for relapsing MS The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided not to approve an application seeking clearance of GA Depot — a long-acting formulation of glatiramer acetate — for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Importantly, this is not a rejection of the application for the…
February 20, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Chronic inflammatory lesions linked to more aggressive MS in US study The presence in the brain of chronic inflammatory lesions — called paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs) — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a greater relapse burden and faster disability progression in the long term, according to a new U.S. study. Among more than 150 patients who…
February 19, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Sanofi launches Phase 3 frexalimab trials after positive Phase 2 data Bolstered by Phase 2 trial data showing that frexalimab safely reduces the number of brain lesions in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), developer Sanofi has launched a pair of Phase 3 studies that will test the investigational therapy in relapsing and progressive MS. One of…
February 16, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Larger trials needed to evaluate intermittent fasting for MS: Review An intermittent fasting (IF) diet may lead to immune and metabolic alterations that ease multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms and improve quality of life, a recent review of published studies suggests. While evidence from these few small clinical trials indicates an IF diet…
February 13, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Nitric oxide metabolites in blood could aid diagnosis of MS: Study Measuring levels of nitric oxide metabolites in the blood could be a diagnostic biomarker for multiple sclerosis (MS), recent research suggests. The molecules, collectively called NOx, were elevated in the blood of people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and primary-progressive MS…
February 5, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD High-intensity interval training of similar benefit to moderate exercise High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and a longer but more moderate exercise regimen seem to be of similar benefit to multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in terms of fatigue, body composition, and most cognitive and cardiovascular fitness domains, according to a recent meta-analysis. In a limited number of studies, HIIT did…
January 29, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Access to MS care poorer for rural regions, select patient groups in US Geographical proximity to neurologists and multiple sclerosis (MS) speciality care centers is lower for people living in rural regions of the U.S. relative to metropolitan areas, according to recent research. Areas with higher proportions of Hispanic individuals, uninsured people, and those with disabilities generally also were more likely to…
January 24, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD In MS, diet low in wheat may ease inflammation, improve life quality A diet low in wheat was linked to reductions in circulating inflammatory immune cells and improvements in pain-related life quality among a small group of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to findings from a pilot clinical trial conducted in Germany. The trial’s findings build upon another recent…
January 19, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Floodlight smartphone app helps in MS but work is needed to boost use A smartphone application called Floodlight Open may help in tracking areas of function in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but more work is needed to improve patient adherence to using the app in a real-world setting, according to a new study. Researchers tested Floodlight Open’s use among more than…
January 18, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Synapses in CNS may be important in myelin production, per MS study Junctions between nerve cells and certain cells called oligodendrocyte precursor cells, or OPCs, in the brain and spinal cord may play an important role in producing myelin, the protective substance that’s progressively lost in multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. OPCs are abundant in the brain and spinal…
January 11, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Depression in pregnancy linked to autoimmune disease, especially MS Women with a history of depression around the time they get pregnant are at increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), according to recent research. Likewise, women who have an autoimmune disease are more likely to get depressed during pregnancy and in the year after…
January 9, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD CNM-Au8 leads to clinical gains for RRMS patients in extension study Daily treatment with CNM-Au8 led to sustained improvements in vision and cognition for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to nearly three years of follow-up in the VISIONARY-MS trial and its open-label extension (OLE). Developer Clene Nanomedicine plans to present full trial results at the upcoming ACTRIMS…
January 5, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD FDA OKs Phase 2 clinical trial of KYV-101 for progressive MS The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a Phase 2 clinical trial to test Kyverna Therapeutics‘ cell-based therapy candidate KYV-101 in people with treatment-resistant progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Called KYSA-7 (NCT06138132), the open-label trial will enroll an estimated 12 patients with either primary progressive…
December 14, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Immune responses to ancient viral protein divide active, stable RRMS Immune responses against an ancient viral protein called pHERV-W that’s encoded in the human genome are higher in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with active disease compared with those who are clinically stable, according to recent research. The findings offer further support for a link between multiple sclerosis…
December 1, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Presence of damaged myelin may be more harmful than its loss: Study The presence of damaged myelin — the fatty, protective substance surrounding nerve cells that’s lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) — may be more harmful to nerve cells than its removal altogether, according to new preclinical research. In mouse models of myelin-associated disease, a failure of microglia — the…
November 29, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD MRI activity, low doses linked to disease recurrence after cladribine About three-quarters of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients given an under-the-skin formulation of cladribine had no disease activity or didn’t receive any additional therapies 4.5 years after starting treatment, a study shows. Cladribine is the active ingredient in the oral therapy Mavenclad and is typically given in two short treatment…
November 22, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Smoking during pregnancy tied to raised MS risk in mothers, offspring Women who smoked during pregnancy, and their offspring, showed a significantly higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in a recent Danish study. “Our observations add further to the evidence implicating smoking in the development of MS and suggest that intra-uterine exposure to tobacco smoke may increase MS risk,”…
November 9, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Swank and Wahls diets seen to improve RRMS hand, arm dexterity The Swank and Wahls diets — two dietary strategies often adopted by people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — were similarly effective at easing functional disability after six months among people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), according to data from a small clinical trial. These functional gains were mostly driven…
November 6, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD GlobeStar adds another partner for Project Amethyst clinical trial Advanced Innovative Partners (AIP) has agreed to assist GlobeStar Therapeutics Corporation and SMI Healthcare in designing and running clinical trials to evaluate Project Amethyst, a patented triple combination of U.S.-approved medications aiming to prevent neurodegeneration due to multiple sclerosis (MS). This definitive agreement follows a…