March 18, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Cell therapy using Tregs in MS headed to Phase 2 trials in Poland The Polish biotechnology company PolTREG plans to launch Phase 2 trials testing its Tregs therapy — the T-cell-based treatment PTG-007 — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Poland later this year. The biotech company has earned a Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) certification for its new manufacturing…
March 11, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD FDA declines to approve GA Depot as treatment for relapsing MS The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided not to approve an application seeking clearance of GA Depot — a long-acting formulation of glatiramer acetate — for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Importantly, this is not a rejection of the application for the…
February 19, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Sanofi launches Phase 3 frexalimab trials after positive Phase 2 data Bolstered by Phase 2 trial data showing that frexalimab safely reduces the number of brain lesions in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), developer Sanofi has launched a pair of Phase 3 studies that will test the investigational therapy in relapsing and progressive MS. One of…
February 16, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Larger trials needed to evaluate intermittent fasting for MS: Review An intermittent fasting (IF) diet may lead to immune and metabolic alterations that ease multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms and improve quality of life, a recent review of published studies suggests. While evidence from these few small clinical trials indicates an IF diet…
February 13, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Nitric oxide metabolites in blood could aid diagnosis of MS: Study Measuring levels of nitric oxide metabolites in the blood could be a diagnostic biomarker for multiple sclerosis (MS), recent research suggests. The molecules, collectively called NOx, were elevated in the blood of people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and primary-progressive MS…
February 5, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD High-intensity interval training of similar benefit to moderate exercise High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and a longer but more moderate exercise regimen seem to be of similar benefit to multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in terms of fatigue, body composition, and most cognitive and cardiovascular fitness domains, according to a recent meta-analysis. In a limited number of studies, HIIT did…
January 29, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Access to MS care poorer for rural regions, select patient groups in US Geographical proximity to neurologists and multiple sclerosis (MS) speciality care centers is lower for people living in rural regions of the U.S. relative to metropolitan areas, according to recent research. Areas with higher proportions of Hispanic individuals, uninsured people, and those with disabilities generally also were more likely to…
January 24, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD In MS, diet low in wheat may ease inflammation, improve life quality A diet low in wheat was linked to reductions in circulating inflammatory immune cells and improvements in pain-related life quality among a small group of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to findings from a pilot clinical trial conducted in Germany. The trial’s findings build upon another recent…
January 19, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Floodlight smartphone app helps in MS but work is needed to boost use A smartphone application called Floodlight Open may help in tracking areas of function in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but more work is needed to improve patient adherence to using the app in a real-world setting, according to a new study. Researchers tested Floodlight Open’s use among more than…
January 18, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Synapses in CNS may be important in myelin production, per MS study Junctions between nerve cells and certain cells called oligodendrocyte precursor cells, or OPCs, in the brain and spinal cord may play an important role in producing myelin, the protective substance that’s progressively lost in multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. OPCs are abundant in the brain and spinal…
January 11, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Depression in pregnancy linked to autoimmune disease, especially MS Women with a history of depression around the time they get pregnant are at increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), according to recent research. Likewise, women who have an autoimmune disease are more likely to get depressed during pregnancy and in the year after…
January 9, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD CNM-Au8 leads to clinical gains for RRMS patients in extension study Daily treatment with CNM-Au8 led to sustained improvements in vision and cognition for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to nearly three years of follow-up in the VISIONARY-MS trial and its open-label extension (OLE). Developer Clene Nanomedicine plans to present full trial results at the upcoming ACTRIMS…
January 5, 2024 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD FDA OKs Phase 2 clinical trial of KYV-101 for progressive MS The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a Phase 2 clinical trial to test Kyverna Therapeutics‘ cell-based therapy candidate KYV-101 in people with treatment-resistant progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Called KYSA-7 (NCT06138132), the open-label trial will enroll an estimated 12 patients with either primary progressive…
December 14, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Immune responses to ancient viral protein divide active, stable RRMS Immune responses against an ancient viral protein called pHERV-W that’s encoded in the human genome are higher in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with active disease compared with those who are clinically stable, according to recent research. The findings offer further support for a link between multiple sclerosis…
December 1, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Presence of damaged myelin may be more harmful than its loss: Study The presence of damaged myelin — the fatty, protective substance surrounding nerve cells that’s lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) — may be more harmful to nerve cells than its removal altogether, according to new preclinical research. In mouse models of myelin-associated disease, a failure of microglia — the…
November 29, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD MRI activity, low doses linked to disease recurrence after cladribine About three-quarters of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients given an under-the-skin formulation of cladribine had no disease activity or didn’t receive any additional therapies 4.5 years after starting treatment, a study shows. Cladribine is the active ingredient in the oral therapy Mavenclad and is typically given in two short treatment…
November 22, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Smoking during pregnancy tied to raised MS risk in mothers, offspring Women who smoked during pregnancy, and their offspring, showed a significantly higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in a recent Danish study. “Our observations add further to the evidence implicating smoking in the development of MS and suggest that intra-uterine exposure to tobacco smoke may increase MS risk,”…
November 9, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Swank and Wahls diets seen to improve RRMS hand, arm dexterity The Swank and Wahls diets — two dietary strategies often adopted by people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — were similarly effective at easing functional disability after six months among people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), according to data from a small clinical trial. These functional gains were mostly driven…
November 6, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD GlobeStar adds another partner for Project Amethyst clinical trial Advanced Innovative Partners (AIP) has agreed to assist GlobeStar Therapeutics Corporation and SMI Healthcare in designing and running clinical trials to evaluate Project Amethyst, a patented triple combination of U.S.-approved medications aiming to prevent neurodegeneration due to multiple sclerosis (MS). This definitive agreement follows a…
November 2, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Stem cell transplant outperforms Lemtrada in MS treatment: Study A stem cell transplant was found to be better than Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for lowering disease activity and slowing disability worsening in people with highly active relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a small study in Lithuania showed. While both treatments were similarly effective in the first couple of…
October 27, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Relapses, lesions in 1st year on oral DMT seen to help predict outcomes A scoring system that accounts for relapses and MRI activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients during their first year on an oral disease-modifying therapy (DMT) was found to be predictive of worse short-term outcomes for people with relapsing forms of the neurodegenerative disorder, a study showed. “The occurrence of…
October 27, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Study examines real-world side effects linked to dalfampridine The most common real-world side effects linked to dalfampridine — sold as Ampyra and with generics available — are similar to those listed on its prescribing label for multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a safety surveillance database. Common side effects included urinary tract infection (UTI), dizziness…
October 26, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Psychological resilience found to link relapse fear, life quality in MS A patient’s ability to cope with and recover from adversity — called psychological resilience — was found to impact the observed relationship between fear of relapse and life quality among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a new study. Essentially, MS patients who had…
October 24, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Childhood stressors linked to future symptoms of pain, fatigue in MS Experiencing certain stressors during childhood may predict the future presence and severity of fatigue, pain, and psychiatric conditions associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new U.S. study. Childhood physical and emotional stressors were each significantly linked to a higher likelihood of MS patients experiencing each of the…
October 23, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Protein that helps immune cells infiltrate MS brain ID’d in mice In a surprise discovery, researchers found that deleting a protein called integrin alpha-3 blocked harmful immune cells from accessing the brain — and prevented the onset of symptoms — in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Now, the researchers say that targeting this protein might be one way…
October 18, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD ECTRIMS 2023: Declining risk of SPMS conversion seen in registry The risk of converting to secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) has declined in recent years for patients who have an earlier disease onset, an analysis of data from the Swedish MS Registry indicates. The conversion is also occurring later in life and in people who have lived with multiple…
October 18, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD ECTRIMS 2023: Sick days in years before diagnosis suggest MS prodrome Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients had significantly more sickness-related work absences in the years leading up to their disease onset than people in the general population, a recent Swedish analysis showed. Scientists believe the findings support the growing notion that there is an MS prodrome, during which early signs of…
October 16, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD ECTRIMS 2023: Tolebrutinib found to show benefits for up to 3 years Treatment with tolebrutinib for up to nearly three years was tied to low relapse rates, stable disability, and few new brain lesions among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from the long-term safety (LTS) extension of a Phase 2b trial. The data…
October 16, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD ECTRIMS 2023: Obesity tied to disability progression, declines Obese people with multiple sclerosis (MS) had faster disability accumulation, greater cognitive declines, and worse quality of life in the 15 years after diagnosis relative to patients with normal weight, according to an analysis of Swedish data. While it’s been known that obesity was a risk factor for developing…
October 13, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD ECTRIMS 2023: Early high-efficacy DMTs may help slow MS disability People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who had an early start on high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) experience slower disability progression compared with those on escalation treatment, according to recent research. The study, which followed patients for up to 10 years, supports starting high-risk RRMS patients on highly effective…