MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: HSCT vs. DMTs, Mindfulness for MS, Ocrevus and T-cells, Pregnancy Guidelines

Blood Stem Cell Transplant Better than DMTs at Reducing Risk of Disease Progression in RRMS

Here’s more evidence that hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) works better than some disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) at reducing multiple sclerosis (MS) progression. In this study, only three of 52 patients in the HSCT group had disease progression after a year compared to 34 of 51 in the DMT group. Progression increased over time, but significantly less in the HSCT group. Click on the headline to read the full story.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant is better than disease-modifying therapies (DMT) at reducing the risk of disease progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), results from the MIST clinical trial show.

The study “Effect of Nonmyeloablative Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation vs Continued Disease-Modifying Therapy on Disease Progression in Patients With Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis – A Randomized Clinical Trial” was published in the journal JAMA.

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Mindfulness Protects Against Depression, Anxiety, Fatigue, and Sleep Issues in MS Patients, Study Finds

Treating MS symptoms can involve more than medications and physical therapy. This study reports that focusing your mind can help you to have a better quality of life. In addition to the news story above, one of my “MS Wire” columns last week focused on a program that uses mindfulness specifically for MS.

Mindfulness protects against depression, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep problems in patients with multiple sclerosis, improving their quality of life and overall well-being, a study finds.

The study, “Longitudinal associations between mindfulness and well-being in people with multiple sclerosis,” was published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.

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Ocrevus Targets Certain T-cells, Along with B-cells, in MS Patients, Study Reports

The disease-modifying therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) was designed to attack B-cells, while the DMT Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) was designed to attack both B- and T-cells. The study reports that Ocrevus may also deplete some T-cells as it attempts to halt MS disease progression.

Treatment with a single dose of Ocrevus depleted a subset of immune T-cells within two weeks in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis or primary progressive MS (PPMS), according to a study.

The study, “Ocrelizumab Depletes CD20⁺ T Cells in Multiple Sclerosis Patients,” was published in the journal Cells.

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UK Experts Propose New Guidelines to Treat Women with MS Before, During, After Pregnancy

Women with MS who plan to become pregnant frequently question how the disease, and the medications they use to control it, will affect them and their unborn child. Now, doctors in the U.K. have revised their treatment guidelines, hoping to reduce uncertainty about treatment safety.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) experts in the United Kingdom have proposed consensus guidelines for the management and treatment of pregnant women with the disease, and couples affected by MS who are planning a pregnancy. …

The guidelines were published in the journal Practical Neurology, in an article titled “UK consensus on pregnancy in multiple sclerosis: ‘Association of British Neurologists’ guidelines.”

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