Posts by: Joana Carvalho, PhD

Joana Carvalho, PhD

Joana holds a BSc in Biology, a MSc in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. Her work has been focused on the impact of non-canonical Wnt signaling in the collective behavior of endothelial cells — cells that made up the lining of blood vessels — found in the umbilical cord of newborns.

December 2, 2020December 2, 2020

Tecfidera May Be Effective Option for Relapsing MS Patients Who Fail to Respond to Glatiramer Acetate

News

Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) may be an effective treatment option for patients with early relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) who fail to respond adequately to glatiramer acetate, according to ... Read more

November 17, 2020November 20, 2020

Scientists Create Oligodendrocytes From Stem Cells in Lab Dish in Just Three Weeks

News

Scientists have created myelin-producing cells, called oligodendrocytes, from pluripotent stem cells derived from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in just three weeks. They also demonstrated ... Read more

November 13, 2020November 13, 2020

Bone Marrow Transplant Most Useful for Younger Patients, MS Society Experts Suggest

News

A bone marrow transplant may be particularly useful for those with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) who, despite treatment with high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), continue to experience relapses ... Read more

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020

Phase 3 Trial of Sativex, Cannabis Extract Treatment for MS Spasticity, Opens in US

News

A Phase 3 trial is underway in the U.S. to assess the safety and efficacy of Sativex (nabiximols), an oral spray that contains cannabis extracts, in treating spasticity — muscle ... Read more

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020

Beetroot Peptide May Hold Promise in Treating MS, Similar Diseases

News

A small protein isolated from beetroot is able to block the activity of an enzyme called prolyl oligopeptidase (POP), which breaks down certain hormones and signaling molecules, and is ... Read more

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020

InnoCare Cleared to Launch Phase 2 Trial to Test Orelabrutinib in RRMS Patients

News

InnoCare Pharma is preparing to launch a Phase 2 trial to assess the safety and efficacy of orelabrutinib, its investigational Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple ... Read more

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020

Helius to Survey MS Users of Emilyn App in US With Gait Problems for PoNS Device

News

Helius Medical Technologies partnered with Breakthrough Health on a project focused on understanding how people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the U.S. evaluate the therapies at their disposal in terms of how ... Read more

October 15, 2020October 16, 2020

New Immune Cells Therapy Found to Suppress MS Symptoms in EAE Mice

News

Scientists developed a new therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) that prevents immune cells from exiting the lymph nodes and entering the spinal cord of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis ... Read more

October 1, 2020October 1, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Disability Level and DMT Use Don’t Raise COVID-19 Risk, UK Study Finds

Covid-19, News

When safety measures like isolation are in place, neither disease-modifying therapy (DMT) use nor greater physical disability appear to heighten the risk of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) contracting ... Read more

September 30, 2020September 30, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Rituximab, Ocrevus Linked to Higher Risk of Worse COVID-19 Outcomes

Covid-19, News

The use of certain disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) such as rituximab and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), which lower the number of a patient’s immune B-cells, may increase the odds of developing a more severe COVID-19 disease course ... Read more

September 29, 2020September 29, 2020

FDA Approves Generic of Tecfidera for Adults With Relapsing MS

News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Cipla’s dimethyl fumarate capsules, a generic version of Biogen’s Tecfidera, to treat adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), ... Read more

September 24, 2020September 24, 2020

Immune Treg Cells Seen to Ease Paralysis in Mouse Model of MS

News

Regulatory T-cells (Tregs) — immune cells that normally dampen immune and inflammatory responses by inhibiting the activity of pro-inflammatory immune cells — enabled mice in a model of multiple ... Read more

September 18, 2020September 18, 2020

National MS Society Launches Survey to Assess Economic Impact of MS

News

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, together with the Lewin Group, has launched a survey to assess the economic impact multiple sclerosis (MS) has on patients and their families. In ... Read more

September 17, 2020September 17, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Tysabri Better Than Other DMTs at Easing Some MS Symptoms

News

Tysabri (natalizumab) is superior to other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) at improving balance and vision, easing bladder problems and sexual dysfunction, and alleviating anxiety in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), ... Read more

September 16, 2020September 17, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – 13-year Data Find Tecfidera Safe, Reduces RRMS Relapses

News

Long-term treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) continues to be safe and effective at reducing the frequency of relapses and disability progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to ... Read more

September 16, 2020September 16, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Long-term Aubagio Use Seen to Lower Relapse Risk for Children

News

Continuous treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) can safely lower the risk of relapses and disability progression in children with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to interim data from ... Read more

September 16, 2020September 16, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Cognitive Problems in Children With MS Can Persist Into Adulthood

News

Cognitive problems can persist into adulthood in people whose multiple sclerosis (MS) began in childhood or adolescence, and are linked to neurological issues and delays in treatment initiation, a ... Read more

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – High-efficacy DMTs More Effective at Slowing Retina Atrophy in RRMS Patients, Study Finds

News

Compared to low-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), high-efficacy medications are more effective at slowing the loss of nerve cells making up different layers of the retina — the region at the ... Read more

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Lesions First Seen on Nerves of GI Tract in Mouse Model of MS

News

Before signs of neurodegeneration in the brain and spinal cord are evident in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) — which resembles human multiple sclerosis (MS) — signs can first ... Read more

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Relapses During Pregnancy More Likely on Higher Efficacy DMTs

News

Women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) using moderate- or high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) before conceiving are more likely to have a relapse during pregnancy than are those taking low-efficacy DMTs ... Read more

September 14, 2020September 17, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Long DMT Exposure May Delay Disability Progression, Wheelchair Use

News

Longer exposure to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may delay disability progression and the time until people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) require the aid of a wheelchair, an Italian ... Read more

September 14, 2020September 17, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Low Rituximab Doses Are Safer, as Effective as Higher Ones

News

Low doses of rituximab, an anti-inflammatory medication used off-label to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), are safer and as effective as higher doses at reducing the frequency of relapses and ... Read more

September 11, 2020September 11, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – Tolebrutinib Prevents Myelin Loss in Mouse Model of MS-like Demyelination

News

Tolebrutinib (SAR442168), an investigational oral BTK inhibitor to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), was seen to prevent the loss of myelin when given to a mouse model of demyelination ... Read more

September 11, 2020September 11, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – GeNeuro’s Temelimab Found Safe When Given Alongside Rituximab

News

Temelimab, GeNeuro’s investigative treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), showed a favorable safety profile when given alongside rituximab, according to preclinical safety experiments performed in preparation for the company’s new ... Read more

September 10, 2020September 10, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – New Safety, Efficacy Data on Mavenclad, Rebif and Evobrutinib on Way

News

EMD Serono will present new data from programs assessing the efficacy and safety of Mavenclad (cladribine) and Rebif (interferon beta-1a), as well as investigative evobrutinib in treating relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis ... Read more

September 8, 2020September 8, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – ATA188 Safe, Early Efficacy Seen in Progressive MS Trial

News

ATA188, Atara Biotherapeutics’ investigative T-cell immunotherapy, is safe, well tolerated, and able to ease disability and improve exercise capacity in patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according ... Read more

September 8, 2020September 8, 2020

Bafiertam, Oral Relapsing MS Therapy, Arrives in US

News

Bafiertam (monomethyl fumarate), a bioequivalent of Tecfidera to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), is now available to patients in the U.S. through a network of specialty pharmacies, Banner ... Read more

September 4, 2020September 4, 2020

MS Patients Who Interact With Health Information More Likely to Adopt Healthy Lifestyle

News

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who interact with different sources of health information are more likely to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors, a study has found. A combination of ... Read more

September 1, 2020September 1, 2020

SomaCeuticals Acquires Rights to Formula Targeting Lesions in MS

News

SomaCeuticals, a subsidiary of AngioSoma, has acquired exclusive global rights to a patented formula that aims to ease and possibly eliminate signs of neurodegeneration in people with multiple sclerosis ... Read more

August 28, 2020August 28, 2020

Youthful Obesity May Account for 14% of MS Cases in US by 2035

News

The number of new cases of multiple sclerosis (MS) possibly due to obesity in childhood and adolescence could rise by  14% in the U.S. over the next 15 years, and ... Read more

August 27, 2020August 27, 2020

#MSVirtual2020 – MRI Changes Can Reflect Function in Progressive MS, Study Says

News

Certain MRI measures of the brain and spinal cord directly associate with functional improvements in people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. According to BrainStorm Cell ... Read more

August 19, 2020August 19, 2020

Sanofi to Acquire Principia Biopharma in $3.6 Billion Transaction

News

In a $3.68 billion transaction, Sanofi is preparing to acquire Principia Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for disorders caused by dysregulation of the immune ... Read more

July 29, 2020July 29, 2020

CHI3L1 Protein Levels May Mark Neurologic Disability in PPMS, Study Suggests

News

Levels of a protein linked to inflammation and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) — called chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) — may prove to be a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker of neurologic disability ... Read more

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020

Tysabri in Long-term Use Seen to Lessen Relapses, Stabilize Disease

News

Tysabri (natalizumab) is effective at reducing the frequency of relapses in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and is rarely associated with poor clinical outcomes, a real-life and multiyear ... Read more

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020

UK Health Services Failing MS Patient Needs Under Pandemic, Survey Finds

Covid-19, News

A vast majority — 7 out of every 10 — healthcare professionals working with multiple sclerosis (MS) patients across the U.K. believe health services are failing to meet their ... Read more

July 22, 2020July 22, 2020

FDA Will Review Arbaclofen ER, Potential Oral Therapy for MS Spasticity

News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to review  Osmotica Pharmaceuticals‘ amended request for the approval of arbaclofen extended release (ER) tablets to treat spasticity in people with ... Read more

July 21, 2020July 22, 2020

Retina Thickness Can Be Used to Identify MS Patients with Progressive Disease, Study Suggests

News

The thickness of two layers of nerve cells forming the back of the eye, or retina, can be used to distinguish patients with progressing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) ... Read more

July 15, 2020July 15, 2020

High Levels of NfL Protein Linked to Disability, Faster Disease Progression in MS

News

High levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein circulating in the blood of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at an early stage of the disease are linked to higher ... Read more

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020

University of Sydney Awarded AU$7.1M in Pursuit of Better MS, Mental Health Treatment

News

The Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) has awarded AU$7.1 million (about $4.95 million) to support two projects focused on harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and ... Read more

July 10, 2020August 24, 2020

Trial of Cannabis Derivatives in Treating MS Spasticity to Open in Canada

News

The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and its partner, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), have invested CA$1.5 million to open a clinical trial that will investigate the potential ... Read more