Margarida Azevedo, MSc,  —

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lifted the clinical hold and cleared the investigational new drug (IND) application to assess IMS001 in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), ImStem Biotechnology announced. The company plans to start a Phase 1 study in the U.S. this…

MedDay Pharmaceuticals‘ MD1003 did not ease functional disability or its progression in patients with non-active progressive multiple sclerosis, Phase 3 clinical trial data shows. The SPI2 Phase 3 study (NCT02936037) sought to confirm the positive results of a first Phase 3 trial called MS-SPI…

Anavex Life Sciences‘ investigational therapy Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine) showed an ability to protect, repair, and induce the formation of oligodendrocytes — the cells that produce the protective myelin layer around neurons — in early cell testing, researchers reported. These findings, which further establish the therapy’s potential as a treatment…

The Spanish version of the modified Story Memory Technique improves learning and life satisfaction of Mexican patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests.  The tool, developed by the Kessler Foundation, has the potential to address the lack of cognitive rehabilitation interventions that are culturally…

Melissa A. Colbeck, an investigator at the Occupational Therapy, Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Canada, studied how different sensory processing approaches, cognition, and fatigue influence the quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings suggested that establishing a relationship between the three factors and quality of life…

Mayis Al Dughmi, of the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at the University of Kansas Medical Center, recently presented her findings on the relationship between fatigue, measured using the Neurological Fatigue Index (NFI-MS), and sleep quality and attentiveness in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings indicate that cognitive…

Researchers at the University of Arizona studied the psychosocial symptoms felt by a group of female patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) from the southwestern United States, and found significant relationships between depression, fatigue, and cognitive decline — symptoms also related with poorer quality of life and reduced mental and…

Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) ithree institute are taking a novel approach in an attempt to halt disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). The scientists are planning to explore the anti-inflammatory potential of a controlled infection by parasitic worms as a way of preventing the harmful over-inflammation observed in MS and…

A new report by the Conference Board of Canada’s Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Health Care (CASHC) notes that employers and the Canadian government are not giving enough support towards increasing workforce participation among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), despite the clear benefits such support would mean to not only the well-being of individuals…

Mitoxantrone,  a multiple sclerosis (MS)  drug that is already associated with a higher risk for leukemia and heart damage, may also raise a person’s risk of colorectal cancer, researchers at the University of Würzburg, in Germany, reported. If confirmed in larger studies, the findings indicate that colonoscopies should be conducted on MS patients after…

The United Spinal Association, a nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), a group of conditions that include multiple sclerosis (MS), announced it will have an exhibit booth at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers‘ (CMSC) 30th Annual Meeting, to be held at the…

The Canadian Association of Optometrists is urging people to have their eyes examined regularly as a part of their preventive care routine. The plea, an education initiative for May — which is Vision Health Month — stresses that comprehensive eye exams are important even for people with good vision, because they…

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., announced that its president and chief executive officer, Neil K. Warma, recently gave a presentation on immunotherapy and its potential for treating autoimmune disorders, including multiple sclerosis, at the recent Cellular Horizons: The Third International Conference on the Progress of Regenerative Medicine and its Cultural Impact held at the Vatican. Neil…

A researcher at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) has been awarded a $540,250 grant from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to support continued research into the collagen degradative processes linked to connective tissue diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr. Gregg Fields, a professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and…

Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti, chair of the Department of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic and the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Professor of Neurosciences, has received the 2016 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research, an honor jointly awarded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Academy of Neurology…

Sanofi Genzyme is presenting promising data regarding brain volume and retinal nerve fibers in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients — drawn from an ongoing extension study into the disease-modifying drug alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) — at the 2016 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting  taking place in Vancouver, Canada, through April…

Potentially groundbreaking research by the Tisch Multiple Sclerosis Research Center of New York (MSRCNY) will be presented on April 19 at the 68th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting taking place in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Saud A. Sadiq, director and chief research scientist at the Tisch center, will present results of a…

A Phase 2 clinical trial testing the efficacy of a common antihistamine, clemastine fumarate, to treat optic nerve damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) found the drug able to slightly reverse damage to their visual system. The  study, conducted by researchers at the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of California San…

PathMaker Neurosystems, Inc., recently announced the launch of an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved clinical trial, in partnership with Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MyoRegulator for the treatment of spasticity, one of the most common symptoms in multiple sclerosis…

RedHill Biopharma, Ltd. recently announced promising interim results from its ongoing CEASE-MS Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a fixed dose of RHB-104 as an add-on therapy for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). RHB-104 consists of an oral capsule formulation of an antibiotic combination therapy —…

Researchers, working with an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), discovered that oral treatment with a synthesized plant peptide, known as cyclotide, halted the progression of clinical symptoms without side effects. The finding offers new hope for the development of an easily available and orally deliverable treatment that might slow or even…

The United Spinal Association, a nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life of people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), a group of conditions that include multiple sclerosis (MS), is collaborating with MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and Children’s National Medical Center to study the potential benefits of the bacteria…

Multiple sclerosis was a main focus at the four-day 10th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy), in Lisbon, Portugal, that concluded on March 20. Among the topics of debate was demyelination as the disease’s main pathogenic precursor and the clinical potential of remyelination. The debate, titled “Can we expect long-term…

Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine released preliminary results of an ongoing study into an effective and progressive resistance training program to improve hip strength and walking ability, areas of concern in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). The program, consisting of exercises using resistant…

Professor Steve Wilton and Dr. Rakesh Veedu from Murdoch University’s Centre for Comparative Genomics in Western Australia received project grants of $50,000 and $25,000, respectively, to investigate and develop new methods for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The grants are part of $1.834 million in research funding given by MS…

A large-scale online survey, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society  and developed by researchers, is investigating how multiple sclerosis (MS) patients perceive and evaluate the risks and benefits of available therapies. Investigators encourage MS patients to participate in the survey, titled “Multiple Sclerosis Risk Tolerance,” which can be…

AB Science recently reported the publication of four peer-reviewed and independent research papers that add to the growing recognition of masitinib, the company’s lead compound, as a promising treatment for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, including progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society launched a new awareness campaign for Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week, which runs through March 13, featuring the stories of people impacted by MS and a website with tips for overcoming daily disease challenges. The campaign, “Together We Are Stronger,” also recognizes the progress made in MS research…

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that a small clinical trial of a progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment was stopped early due to poor results. The trial was evaluating the drug rituximab for its efficacy in depleting harmful immune cells and decreasing nerve damage in these MS…

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, working in the fruit fly model, identified an organic cation transporter, CarT (carcinine transporter), that is crucial to the recycling of histamine in the brain and the maintenance of healthy vision. Histamine is a neurotransmitter involved in chronic inflammation and pathogenesis in multiple…