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Smartphone, wearable device data found reliable to monitor MS: Study

Measurements from smartphones and wearable devices like smartwatches can reliably provide clinically meaningful data to monitor multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study from Switzerland reports. While daily data from such devices did not prove sufficiently reliable in this small study, information generated weekly ā€” across more than 45 different…

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…

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 personā€™s eye movements. It’s intended for…

Exposure to household chemicals harms myelin-making cells

Two types of chemicals in household disinfectants and furniture can disrupt the development of oligodendrocytes, the brain cells chiefly responsible for making myelin, a new study shows. The finding suggests that exposure to these chemicals may be a risk factor for disorders related to myelin such as…

SetPoint nerve stimulator for RRMS accepted to FDA TAP program

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted SetPoint Medical, which is developing a nerve stimulator for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), into a pilot program designed to promote the development of new medical devices, the company said. The Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program…

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 ā€” ranging from insufficient access to primary care, social interactions, assistance, doctor-patient relationships, and information about the neurodegenerative disease. More than half…

Seqster data-sharing platform selected to power MSAA network

Note: This story was updated March 26, 2024, to correct the affiliations of the Multiple Sclerosis Implementation Network staff and to note changes to the program’s partners. The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) has tapped healthcare technology company SeqsterĀ to power its multicenter research and learning program, which…

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),…

Neurostimulator to repair myelin in RRMS named breakthrough device

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated SetPoint Medicalā€™s neurostimulator a breakthrough device for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). This designation is intended to accelerate the development of devices intending to more effectively treat or diagnose life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases than standard approaches.

MSAA, Lumina partner to provide MRIs to MS patients in Ohio

Lumina Imaging has partnered with the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) to provide affordable brain and spinal cord MRI scans to multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The partnership makes Lumina the preferred provider for the MSAA’s MRI Access Program in northeast Ohio. The program is designed…

New bilingual graphic aims to raise awareness of early MS symptoms

A bilingual graphic educational message, dubbed VISIBL-MS, has been developed by researchers at the University of Connecticut (UConn) to raise awareness about the early symptoms of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS). The graphic ā€” bearing the word ā€œVISIBLYā€ in English and ā€œVISIBLEā€ in Spanish ā€” uses the letters in each phrase…

Metabolon, Cardiff University partner for MS biomarker research

Metabolon and Cardiff University are partnering to discover new biomarkers that could help better understand disease mechanisms and develop new treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS). The project leverages Metabolon’s expertise in metabolomics, a field of research that measures all products of metabolism, called metabolites, that are made…

Rituximab for MS may safely control disease in children, teens

Treatment with rituximab, an approved CD20 inhibitor that’s sometimes used off-label for multiple sclerosis (MS), was found to adequately control the neurodegenerative disease in patients diagnosed during childhood or adolescence, a new study showed. The therapy, given byĀ  infusion into the bloodstream, was generally safe and significantly reduced…

Exercise improves mental health, life quality for MS patients: Analysis

Getting physical exercise can improve subjective well-being and health-related quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new meta-analysis shows. “Exercise interventions, especially aerobic or combined aerobic and resistance training, should be implemented in clinical practice to promote mental health” and health-related quality of life in people…

Phase 1 trial of KYV-101 opening in progressive MS without relapses

Researchers at Stanford University have partnered with Kyverna Therapeutics to conduct an investigator-initiated clinical trial of the company’s cell-based therapy, KYV-101, in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) without relapses. The open-label Phase 1 trial (NCT06138132) will take place at the Stanford Multiple Sclerosis…

Common MS therapies appear safe to use while breastfeeding

Taking antibody-based medications for multiple sclerosis (MS) while breastfeeding does not appear to harm a child’s health or development during at least the first three years of life, according to a preliminary study of more than 180 babies. Children breastfed by mothers taking Tysabri (natalizumab), Ocrevus (ocrelizumab),…

Briumvi, an infusion treatment for MS, granted 3 more patents

TG Therapeutics has secured three additional U.S. patents for Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy), an anti-CD20 antibody that’s been approved to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent numbers 11,807,689; 11,814,439; and 11,884,740 specifically cover the composition and…