January 12, 2023 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Benefits of Aerobic Exercise in MS Modulated by Specific Brain Region Aerobic training for up to three months significantly outperformed less-strenuous exercise at improving walking capacity among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. However, the benefits of aerobic exercise seem to be greater among patients without MS-related damage in the insula — a brain region involved in…
January 10, 2023 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Lifestyle Changes to Increase Physical Activity Improved MS Fatigue A behavioral intervention that teaches people with multiple sclerosis (MS) strategies for becoming physically active significantly improved patient-reported measures of fatigue over a year, but had no effect on other self-reported disease measures, according to new data from a Phase 3 trial. Earlier results had shown that the approach,…
January 6, 2023 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD TeraImmune, NIAID Partnership Extended to Boost Treg Therapies TeraImmune is extending its collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to continue developing regulatory T-cell-based therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. The extension will let the company continue optimize the manufacturing process for its lead regulatory T-cell (Treg) product in…
January 5, 2023 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD PoNS Device Now Available Online to Patients in US People with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the U.S. now may order a Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) device online through a new e-commerce site launched by the device’s developer, Helius Medical Technologies. The website, built in partnership with the telehealth company UpScript, marks the first time…
December 22, 2022 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD 1 in 5 MS Patients May Be Unfit to Drive, But More Research Is Needed About one in five people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be unfit to drive a vehicle due to disease-related difficulties, according to a review of published studies. Cognitive and visual difficulties were most frequently associated with impaired driving ability, both on the road and in a simulation. However, the…
December 21, 2022 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Ocrevus Reduces Disease Activity, Slows Progression in RRMS, PPMS Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) was equally effective in reducing disease activity after two years in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new study reports. The therapy also slowed disease progression in both groups, although a stronger effect was seen with RRMS patients…
December 19, 2022 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Combined Genetic and Protein Analysis Reveals New Risk Genes Higher activity of the genes SHMT1, FAM120B, and ICA1L in the brain may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports that for the first time linked two of the genes to risk for the disease. The findings may help to better understand the biological…
December 14, 2022 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Tecfidera Has No Impact on PPMS Progression After 2 Years: Trial Data Continuous treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) for more than two years did not slow clinical and radiological measures of disease progression in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) compared with patients who started treatment after one year. In fact, most PPMS patients remained stable with or without…
December 13, 2022 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Long-term Use of Gilenya Doesn’t Appear to Affect MS Patients’ Vision More than four years of treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) did not cause significant swelling of the macula — a part of the retina, found in the back of the eye, and important for visual clarity — in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a small study showed. While…
December 12, 2022 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Can Ease Some MS Symptoms: Review Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may be able to reduce fatigue, spasticity, and pain, and improve quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new meta-analysis reports. The review assessed several NIBS interventions targeting different brain regions. The results suggest that these techniques can have immediate effects…
December 9, 2022 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Worse Work Status in MS Tied to Subjective Cognitive Impairment Patient-reported cognition difficulties — called subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) — are associated with current work status and with employment deterioration after two years in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. Depression and anxiety also were linked with work status among these MS patients, but such…