Posts by: Ana Pena, PhD

Ana Pena, PhD

Ana is a molecular biologist with a passion for communication and discovery. As a science writer, her goal is to provide readers, in particular patients and healthcare providers, with clear and quality information about the latest medical advances. Ana holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where she specialized in infectious diseases, epigenetics, and gene expression.

March 20, 2020March 23, 2020

Gilenya Outperforms Avonex in Lessening Brain Lesion Activity, Atrophy in Children with MS, Trial Shows

News

Oral treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) is more effective than Avonex (interferon beta-1a) for controlling brain lesion activity and brain volume loss in children with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS), two-year results ... Read more

March 19, 2020March 19, 2020

Canadian Study Reports Fewer MS-related Hospital Admissions as Patients Age and Among Women

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Older age, a greater number of health conditions, and prior hospital admissions are associated with more hospitalizations due to all causes among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, MS-related ... Read more

March 16, 2020March 20, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – CNM-Au8 a Potential ‘Breakthrough’ in MS Therapy, Clene CMO Says

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An investigational therapy that uses nanocrystals of gold to help the brain repair itself represents a breakthrough in the multiple sclerosis (MS) field, says Clene Nanomedicine‘s chief medical officer ... Read more

March 11, 2020March 12, 2020

Blood NfL Potential Marker of MS Therapies’ Effectiveness, Study Suggests

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Starting treatment with a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) reduces blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — a potential biomarker of disease progression and activity — to varying degrees depending on ... Read more

March 6, 2020April 2, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – What We Now Know About Diet and MS

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What science has told us about how diet might influence a person’s risk of multiple sclerosis and a patient’s disease course was the topic of discussion at a recent MS ... Read more

March 4, 2020March 24, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – 3 Ways to Treat MS by Altering Gut Microbiome Under Study

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Modulating the bacteria that reside in the gut by treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with probiotics, fecal transplants, or gut-related microRNAs may help to ease inflammation and disease severity, researchers with Brigham ... Read more

March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – IL-13 May Be ‘Attractive’ Target for Easing Inflammation in MS

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A signaling molecule of the immune system called interleukin 13 (IL-13) may modulate the function of key immune cells involved in multiple sclerosis (MS), and their migration through the ... Read more

March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Ozanimod May Ease Inflammation While Retaining Some Immune Defenses

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Ozanimod — an investigational oral therapy up for approval to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) — lowers the number of white blood cells circulating in the blood, supporting its ... Read more

March 2, 2020March 5, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – CorTechs Says AI Models May Improve Early MS Diagnosis

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CorTechs Labs presented new data indicating that machine learning models based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain may aid in the early diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). ... Read more

March 2, 2020March 3, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Ofatumumab Self-injection Pen Equivalent to Prefilled Syringe, APLIOS Trial Shows

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Using a patient-friendly autoinjector pen to take monthly doses of ofatumumab — an investigational B-cell therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) — is bioequivalent to delivering it via a prefilled ... Read more

March 2, 2020March 2, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Protein May Drive Process Causing T-cells to Attack Myelin

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A protein called dedicator of cytokinesis 8 (DOCK8) is key for the development and expansion of self-reactive immune T-cells that wrongly attack myelin, a study in a mouse model ... Read more

March 2, 2020March 20, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Vitamin D at High Dose Can Worsen MS, Early Study Says

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High-dose vitamin D supplements appear to aggravate inflammation and myelin loss in the brain and spinal cord, and worsen the disability associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study in ... Read more

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Early Trial Data Support CNM-Au8 Improving Vision, Physical Abilities

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Clene Nanomedicine shared early results of the VISIONARY-MS trial, suggesting that CNM-Au8 — an investigational remyelinating therapy — leads to “notable” trends in better vision, as well as benefits ... Read more

February 28, 2020March 2, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Remyelination in Adult Animal Brains Possible via Cell Transplant, Study Says

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Transplanting human glial progenitor cells (GPCs) — brain cells able to generate myelin-producing cells — effectively led to remyelination in the brains of adult mice with myelin disorders, a study ... Read more

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Pregnancies and Menopause Affect Age of Progressive MS Onset

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Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have never given birth and those who began menopause prematurely tend to develop progressive forms of the disease earlier, a study from the Mayo ... Read more

February 18, 2020February 18, 2020

How Astrocytes Promote Inflammation in Patients’ Brain Detailed in Early Study

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Using brain tissue from people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and mouse models of MS, scientists identified a key pathway that drives astrocytes to promote inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. ... Read more

February 14, 2020February 21, 2020

Ocrevus Use Rises Among New Starters with RRMS, Loses Ground to Other Therapies in PPMS

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First-line use of Genentech‘s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has remained stable through 2019 compared to 2018, according to the latest Spherix Global Insights‘ report. However, ... Read more

February 13, 2020February 13, 2020

Gold Nanocrystals in Phase 2 Testing Show ‘Robust’ Remyelination Potential in Animal Models

News

Clene Nanomedicine‘s remyelination therapy candidate, CNM-Au8, showed a “robust” ability to stimulate the production of new myelin and increase the number of myelin-wrapped nerve fibers in the brain and ... Read more

February 11, 2020February 13, 2020

Inflammasome Pathway Linked to MS and Diseases of Aging Has an ‘Off’ Switch, Early Study Says

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Immune cells have an inflammation ‘switch’ that involves the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway, and targeting it may prevent or even reverse the chronic inflammation seen in diseases like multiple sclerosis ... Read more

January 31, 2020February 7, 2020

FDA OKs Device to Monitor Blink Reflex, Potential Way of Detecting MS Early

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EyeStat, a portable device to measure blink reflex, has been cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On the heels of promising results for assessing ... Read more

January 28, 2020January 28, 2020

New Research Shows How Nerve Impulses Travel, May Offer Insights to Effects of MS Demyelination

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Nerve impulses travel in a “dual cable” with myelin, playing additional roles to what was previously thought, new research has found. This discovery advances human knowledge of how brain ... Read more

January 23, 2020January 23, 2020

Gene Therapy Recovers Vision in Mice Models of MS, Uncovers How Neuron Connections Are Destroyed

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Early research in animal models and human samples reveals how loss of communication between nerve cells contributes to the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and shows how gene therapy ... Read more

January 20, 2020January 20, 2020

Being Bilingual May Help to Delay Cognitive Decline in MS, Study Suggests

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An ability to speak more than one language may help to protect people with multiple sclerosis (MS) against the cognitive decline caused by the disease, new research suggests. The ... Read more

January 16, 2020January 16, 2020

Magenta Therapeutics to Advance Safer Immune Reset Therapy for MS Stem Cell Transplant in 2020

News

Magenta Therapeutics will continue to advance its investigational conditioning therapy CD45-ADC for patients with autoimmune diseases undergoing stem cell transplants, the company highlighted in a progress report. CD45-ADC is a ... Read more

January 2, 2020January 3, 2020

Future MS Trials Should Focus on Patient Experience, Providing Long-term Data, Working Group Says

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Trials testing new immunotherapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) should focus more on patients’ experiences and on symptoms relevant for them such as fatigue, depression, and cognitive difficulties, a German ... Read more

December 19, 2019December 19, 2019

Treatment Begins in Part 2 of Trial of Software App Addressing Depression in MS, Pear Says

News

Pear Therapeutics announced that a first patient is being treated in Part 2 of its feasibility trial of Pear-006, a software application that, given along with a disease-modifying therapy, delivers ... Read more

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019

Astrocytes in Brain Seen as Possible Trigger of Progressive MS via Processes of Metabolism

News

Processes related to metabolism in brain cells known as astrocytes may be at the origin of multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly underlying the inflammation and damage to the nervous system ... Read more

December 3, 2019December 3, 2019

microRNA Found in Gut Microbiome May Unlock Future Therapeutic Approach for MS

News

A small RNA molecule found in high levels in the gut of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) could be used to develop a new therapy for MS in the ... Read more

December 2, 2019December 2, 2019

MS Risk Linked to Herpes Virus 6A and Not More Common 6B, Study Suggests

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Human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A), but not a widespread variant of the virus called HHV-6B, could be one of the root causes of multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. Compared to ... Read more

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019

Problems Processing Sensory Information Linked to MS Severity, Difficulties in Daily Life, Study Finds

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People with multiple sclerosis (MS) — both with and without cognitive impairments — have trouble processing sensory information, which is linked to greater disease severity and difficulties in daily ... Read more

November 25, 2019February 5, 2020

Protein That Helps Cells Break Down Sugar Also Promotes Inflammation, Study Suggests

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A protein involved in cell metabolism, called PKM2, was found to be central to switching ‘on’ immune cells that play critical roles in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as ... Read more

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019

Ocrevus Top Choice of US Neurologists for Active SPMS, But Mayzent and Mavenclad Gaining Interest, Report Says

News, SPMS

Genentech‘s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) continues to be the most prescribed medication to reduce inflammatory disease in people with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) among U.S. neurologists, even though Novartis’ Mayzent (siponimod) and EMD Serono’s Mavenclad (cladribine) were ... Read more

November 12, 2019November 17, 2019

Acthar Gel Quite Effective at Resolving Relapses as Alternative to Corticosteroids, Study Reports

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Acthar Gel is more effective for treating flares in multiple sclerosis than other alternatives, including intravenous immunoglobulin or plasmapheresis, a claims-based study from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals reports. The study “Treatment Effectiveness for Resolution of ... Read more

November 7, 2019November 7, 2019

Siemens Healthineers Joins with Quanterix to Develop Blood Tests for NfL Levels

News

Siemens Healthineers has signed a license and supply agreement with Quanterix that helps it in developing blood tests for neurofilament light chain (NfL) to aid in early disease detection, ... Read more

November 5, 2019November 5, 2019

EMA Safety Group Advises Lemtrada Be Limited to ‘Highly Active’ RRMS Patients at Hospitals with ICUs

News

Seven months after starting a safety review of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) that oversees the safety of medicines approved in the European Union has issued ... Read more

November 4, 2019November 4, 2019

Mutations in 3 Genes Linked to Vision Loss and MS Severity in Hopkins Study

News

Mutations in genes related to the immune system’s first line of defense are associated with a greater likelihood of more severe forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) linked to faster ... Read more

November 1, 2019November 13, 2019

Interferons Superior to Glatiramer Acetate, and Tysabri More Effective than Gilenya for RRMS, Real-world Study Finds

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Interferon therapy (brand names Avonex, Betaseron, and others) is more effective than glatiramer acetate (sold as Copaxone, Glatopa and other generics) for reducing relapses and disease activity, and delaying ... Read more

October 31, 2019October 31, 2019

Medicinal Cannabinoids Not Effective for Mental Disorders, Small Relief on MS Anxiety, Analysis Suggests

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A joint analysis of 83 studies, involving 3,000 people, concluded that there is “scarce evidence” to say that the use of medicinal cannabinoids — chemical compounds in the cannabis ... Read more

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019

Twice Daily Dosing and Side Effects Top Reasons Patients Seen to Stop Tecfidera in Small Study

News

A twice-daily dosing schedule and side effects like nausea and flushing are key reasons why more than 10% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients followed for a year stopped using Tecfidera (dimethyl ... Read more