Posts by: Ana Pena

Ana Pena

Ana is a molecular biologist enthusiastic about innovation and communication. In her role as a science writer she wishes to bring the advances in medical science and technology closer to the public, particularly to those most in need of them. Ana holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where she focused her research on molecular biology, epigenetics and infectious diseases.

April 24, 2019April 24, 2019

Thyroid Hormone Mimetic Holds Promise as Remyelination Therapy for MS, Mouse Study Shows

News

Researchers have developed a compound based on the thyroid hormone T3 that is able to repair damaged myelin in the brain of mice, a discovery that holds promise for ... Read more

April 23, 2019April 23, 2019

Main Ingredient in Potential MS Therapy EHP-101 Not a Controlled Substance, DEA Rules

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has determined that the cannabidiol-based active ingredient of EHP-101, an investigational oral treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) under development by Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals (EHP), should not ... Read more

April 23, 2019April 24, 2019

Study Will Explore Benefits of Tai Chi, Meditation on MS Patients’ Physical Balance

News

A pilot study has been launched to assess the immediate and enduring benefits of tai chi and mindfulness meditation on the physical balance and mental wellness of people with multiple ... Read more

April 10, 2019April 18, 2019

MS Misdiagnosis Too Common, Puts Patients in Unnecessary Peril from Therapies, Study Reveals

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Nearly 18% of new multiple sclerosis (MS) patients referred to two speciality clinics in Los Angeles, California, had been misdiagnosed with the disease, according to a recent study. Most ... Read more

April 9, 2019April 9, 2019

Menstruation Onset, Pregnancies and Breastfeeding Habits Don’t Influence MS Risk, Study Suggests

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A woman’s age at her first menstruation, or becoming pregnant and breastfeeding does not substantially influence the long-term risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) or the risk of increased disability, ... Read more

January 2, 2019January 3, 2019

Acrolein Eyed as Potential Biomarker of MS, Preliminary Study Finds

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A product called acrolein, which is naturally excreted by the body and possible to measure in urine and blood, may be a potential biomarker to help diagnose and evaluate ... Read more

December 19, 2018January 2, 2019

Ampyra Significantly Improves Walking Ability As Reported by MS Patients, Phase 3 Trial Shows

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Treatment with Ampyra (dalfampridine) for 24 weeks leads to sustained and clinically meaningful improvements in walking ability as reported by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with gait difficulties, according to ... Read more

December 13, 2018December 19, 2018

Patients with Stable Disease Who Switch to Another Interferon Therapy at Greater Risk of Flares, Study Reports

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who have been relapse-free while using an interferon-beta (IFN-β) therapy but switch to another IFN-β are significantly more like to start experiencing flares than patients who remain on ... Read more

December 13, 2018December 19, 2018

Lipoic Acid Supplements May Help to Delay Decline in Walking Speed in SPMS Patients, Study Says

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Lipoic acid (LA), an over-the-counter antioxidant supplement, helps to mildly delay a decline in walking speed in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients, particularly those with lesser disability, analysis of a ... Read more

December 5, 2018December 11, 2018

Lemtrada Linked to Bleeding in Lungs in Case Report, 1 of 5 MS Cases Worldwide, Study Says

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A potentially life-threatening case of bleeding in the lungs has been reported and attributed to treatment with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) by a woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Her medical team found diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in ... Read more

December 3, 2018December 11, 2018

Lemtrada’s Use Carries Rare But Serious Risk of Stroke and Artery Tears, FDA Warns

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety alert, warning about a rare but life-threatening risk of stroke and artery rupture in patients with relapsing forms of ... Read more

November 29, 2018November 29, 2018

Stem Cells With Unusual Metabolism May Be Therapeutic Approach to Fight Inflammatory Diseases Like MS, Study Suggests

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Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), the type of stem cells present in many tissues of adults, may be manipulated to fight inflammation and used as a cell therapy to ... Read more

November 27, 2018December 4, 2018

Homotaurine Compound May Be New Class of Treatment for MS, Mouse Study Suggests

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Homotaurine, a compound proven safe for humans in long-term clinical trials, has eased autoimmune responses, brain inflammation, and multiple sclerosis-like symptoms in a mouse model of the disease, a ... Read more

November 26, 2018December 19, 2018

FDA Warns of Rare Risk of Severe Worsening in MS Disability After Stopping Gilenya Use

News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety alert, warning that people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) who stop using Gilenya (fingolimod) may experience disease worsening beyond that when starting ... Read more

November 19, 2018November 19, 2018

MS Therapy Fampyra Again Not Recommended for Use in Scottish National Health System

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The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) issued a negative recommendation on the use of Fampyra (fampridine; marketed as Ampyra in the U.S.) in the National Health System (NHS), for the ... Read more

November 15, 2018November 20, 2018

MS-specific Lineage of Oligodendrocytes May Provide New Hints on MS Development

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The cells that produce myelin in the brain and spinal cord, called oligodendrocytes, may play an active role in the onset or progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to ... Read more

November 14, 2018November 26, 2018

Motor Imagery Set to Musical and Verbal Cues Helps Patients with Walking and Fatigue, Study Says

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Mentally rehearsing an ease of walking to rhythmic cues — especially musical and verbal — improves walking speed and distance, and lessens feelings of fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis ... Read more

November 1, 2018November 8, 2018

Stopping Thrombin’s Release in Brain May Prevent Myelin Loss in Diseases Like MS, Mouse Study Suggests

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Myelin loss might be prevented by astrocytes, a brain cell that regulates myelin’s thickness in coating nerve fibers to support the proper transmission of nerve signals, after astrocytes were ... Read more

October 30, 2018October 30, 2018

Air Pollutants, Household Chemicals Increase Risk of Pediatric MS, Studies Suggest

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Children exposed to certain air pollutants in urban areas or some household chemicals are at higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) during childhood or adolescence, two new research studies suggest. The ... Read more

October 29, 2018October 29, 2018

Blocking Molecule Evident in Excess in MS Patients Treats Mice with SPMS-like Disease, Study Reports

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Blocking a molecule that is overly abundant in the nervous system of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and has been linked to nerve cell damage in animals, worked to significantly ease inflammation, ... Read more

October 24, 2018October 30, 2018

Rare Mutations Affecting Immune System and MS Risk Identified in Large Study

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An international consortium studying more than 68,000 people, about half of them multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, found rare genetic variations that account for up to 5 percent of the heritable ... Read more

October 23, 2018October 26, 2018

Stress Granules Found in Nerve Cells of MS Patient Linked to Troubled Protein in Study

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Stress granules forming inside the nerve cells of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be the underlying cause of nerve cell degeneration and permanent disability in these patients, researchers report. The ... Read more

October 22, 2018October 22, 2018

Antibody Targeting Clotting Factor Seen to Lessen Inflammation, Nerve Cell Damage in MS Model

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An antibody that blocks a blood-clotting factor from leaking into the brain was seen to lessen neuroinflammation and nerve cell damage in mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS) and ... Read more

October 18, 2018October 23, 2018

#ECTRIMS2018 — High Vitamin D Levels, Smoking Predict Opposite Effects on Cognition in CIS Patients, Study Suggests

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High vitamin D levels predict better cognitive function, while smoking is associated with worse long-term cognitive disability in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), a study suggests. Data from ... Read more

October 17, 2018October 17, 2018

#ECTRIMS2018 – Evobrutinib Seen to Lower Active Brain Lesions in Phase 2 Trial

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Merck KGaA announced that evobrutinib, its oral candidate for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), was able to safely and significantly reduce active brain lesions over 24 weeks of treatment, according to ... Read more

October 16, 2018October 16, 2018

#ECTRIMS2018 – Shifting from Gilenya to Lemtrada Doesn’t Increase Risk of MS Reactivation, Study Says

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Shifting from treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) to Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), and doing a short washout period between the two therapies, does not seem to increase the risk of disease reactivation ... Read more

October 15, 2018October 15, 2018

#ECTRIMS2018 – Smoking and Vitamin D Deficiency Likely to Worsen CIS Prognosis, Model Suggests

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Smoking and low levels of vitamin D can worsen prognosis for people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), researchers who developed a model for predicting long-term disability progression report. Their ... Read more

October 15, 2018October 15, 2018

#ECTRIMS2018 – Excessive Weight, But Not Vitamin D, Linked with Faster Grey Matter Loss in MS, Study Finds

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Being overweight is associated with accelerated grey matter volume loss in the brain, a mark of neurodegeneration, in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a five-year observational study shows. But vitamin D ... Read more

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018

#ECTRIMS2018 — MS Patients with Depression or Bipolar Disorder at Higher Risk of Disability Worsening, Study Finds

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with depression or bipolar disorder may be at higher risk of becoming incapacitated and seeing their disability worsen faster, according to a Swedish study. A ... Read more

October 10, 2018October 10, 2018

#ECTRIMS2018 – DMTs Slow Down Disability Progression in SPMS Patients with Ongoing Relapses, Analysis Shows

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Treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may benefit patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who are actively experiencing relapses, as they can slow the disability’s worsening, a new analysis ... Read more

October 2, 2018October 8, 2018

New Genetic Variants Linked to Aggressive or Benign MS Disease Course, Study Shows

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Genetic variants in the CPXM2, IGSF9B, and NLRP9 genes were found to potentially shape the disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS), and may be used as biomarkers to identify those with ... Read more

October 1, 2018October 3, 2018

MS Patients Using Rebif Not at Higher Stroke Risk, Even Over Long-term, Study Reports

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Multiple sclerosis patients using Rebif (interferon beta-1a) are not at an increased risk of a stroke, even if remaining on this therapy for more than two years,  a study analyzing safety ... Read more

September 27, 2018October 2, 2018

Often-overlooked MRI Signal May Aid in Early Diagnosis of MS, Other Brain Conditions, Study Suggests

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Scientists have found that a usually-overlooked signal from MRI scans indicates brain regions of nerve cell death and may help in the understanding of brain development and the early diagnosis ... Read more

September 14, 2018September 19, 2018

Phagocytes, Key Immune Cells, Seen to Switch from Promoting to Repairing MS Lesions in Study

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Phagocytes, diverse cells of the innate immune system, are known to both promote and prevent inflammation, depending on whether they are programed to damage tissue or to repair it. A ... Read more

September 12, 2018September 14, 2018

Fat Carrier Protein May Protect Nerve Cells, Help Myelin Regrow During MS, Research Suggests

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Apolipoprotein D (Apo D), a brain-produced carrier of fat molecules, seems to have a neuroprotective role and helps in the regrowth of myelin during multiple sclerosis (MS), a finding ... Read more

September 11, 2018September 13, 2018

Truly ‘Benign MS’ Evident in Only Small Minority of Patients, Large UK Study Reports

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) that appears to be “genuinely benign” 15 years after diagnosis is evident in a small number of patients, a large population-based study from the U.K. reports. But, its ... Read more

September 10, 2018September 10, 2018

‘Guardian’ Immune Cells of Brain Respond Differently by Sex, Study of Male and Female Mice Reports

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Gender differences are evident in immune system cells of the brain called microglia, a study in male and female mice reports, suggesting these cells’ sex-specific features may be important ... Read more

September 7, 2018September 11, 2018

How B-cells Work to Promote T-cell Attacks on Myelin That Lead to MS Detailed in Study

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B-cells in the immune system play an important role in the unfolding of inflammation and brain lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS), largely by how they influence the actions of ... Read more

August 20, 2018August 20, 2018

Hypertension and Heart Disease Linked to Increase in Brain Atrophy in Long-term Study

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High blood pressure and heart disease are linked to greater loss of brain mass, or atrophy in white matter and whole brain volume, in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), ... Read more

August 14, 2018August 14, 2018

Detailed Map of Mouse Nervous System May Help Uncover Origin of Neurological Diseases, Including MS

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Researchers have created a detailed map of the mouse nervous system, including the location of the many diverse cell types in the brain, in the largest study yet of ... Read more