Lindsey Shapiro, PhD, science writer —

The risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) was similar between first- and second-degree family members of people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS). The findings, which were consistent with previous studies suggesting that genetics and environment are relatively equal contributors to disease risk, also…

What a person eats in childhood can influence their future risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) and its clinical course, according to a recent Dutch study. A poor diet with more fast food, snacks, and candy as a child tended to be associated with a higher risk of developing…

The presence of spinal cord lesions — alone or with brain lesions — on MRI scans was associated with a higher risk of clinical relapse for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients over those with just brain lesions, according to a recent study. Spinal and brain lesions together were also predictive…

INmune Bio‘s experimental therapy XPro1595 may promote myelin restoration through the activation of two types of nervous system support cells, according to new data that may lead to novel treatment strategies for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative disorders. The findings highlight the activation of microglia, key…

Tysabri (natalizumab) is better than five other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) at reducing relapses and preventing disability worsening in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to the findings of a novel simulated clinical trial that directly compared the six treatments. The analysis used mathematical modeling to emulate a clinical trial…

Adding optic nerve damage — reflected by a thinning of the nerve layer in the eye’s retina — to the existing diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS) was found to enhance diagnostic accuracy among people who had a single, MS-like event, according to a new study. The study “demonstrated…

Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are three times more likely to face problems with sexual intimacy than are their healthy counterparts, according to a recent meta-analysis. About 61% of women with MS were estimated to have some degree of sexual dysfunction, with the most common being low…

Nerve cells coated with myelin — the fatty substance that’s lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) — may be more vulnerable to degeneration in an inflammatory environment than cells lacking myelin, researchers working in MS patient tissues and mouse models report. The scientists believe the phenomenon arises when certain…

Researchers have developed computer algorithms that may be able to predict certain aspects of cognitive change in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The prediction models, constructed using data from an electronic, self-administered test of information processing speed given MS patients, might accurately identify those likely to experience cognitive worsening over…

Diet was found to significantly influence the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms among patients living in Denmark in a new real-world study. A diet rich in plant-based products was generally associated with a lower symptom burden than one high in red and processed meats. The same was true…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) should generally follow a regular vaccination schedule similar to their healthy peers, with certain adjustments made if they’re on particular disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), according to a group of experts in Europe who devised a set of more than 50 evidence-based guidelines for the…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) — given by infusion — may work better than certain oral treatments to prevent relapses and disability worsening in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who transition from Tysabri (natalizumab), a new study found. Individuals who switched to Ocrevus also were more likely to stay…

Reductions in microglial activation have been observed in the brains of five of six patients with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who received treatment with Tiziana Life Science’s foralumab nasal spray. Microglia, resident immune cells in the brain, are believed to play a role in driving inflammation…

Physical disability, not whether patients are depressed, when they’re diagnosed with multiple sclerosis significantly influences their future disability progression, according to a recent U.K. registry study. Although patients who were depressed at the time of their diagnosis were more likely to accumulate significant disability and require an aid to…

Frexalimab, an experimental anti-CD40L antibody therapy from Sanofi, significantly reduced the number of new brain lesions with active inflammation in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new Phase 2 clinical trial data. Sanofi believes its second-generation CD40L blocker will effectively control immune activity in…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has awarded Clene Nanomedicine a grant to advance its treatment candidate CNM-Au8 for people with nonactive, progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The funding comes from the MS Society’s Fast Forward Program, which supports commercial organizations developing promising new MS therapies,…

Vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838), an investigational multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy with promising results in clinical trials, may exert neuroprotective effects by activating a protein called Nurr1, according to newly published preclinical data. The observed actions on Nurr1 are in addition to the therapy’s known role as an inhibitor of…

A more pro-inflammatory diet is associated with a higher risk of relapses and more inflammatory brain lesions for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the years following their first disease attack, according to a recent study. However, dietary intake did not impact disability progression or the volume of lesions with…

Surgical procedures to treat trigeminal neuralgia — a type of nerve damage that causes facial pain — may be successful for some people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who fail to respond to medications, a new study found. A more invasive procedure called microvascular decompression, or MVD, had slightly…

A four-month home-based aerobic walking program was feasible and may help improve cognitive function for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to data from a recent pilot study funded by the Kessler Foundation. Findings from this small study support the design of a randomized, controlled clinical trial to evaluate…

Tysabri (natalizumab) is generally safe and effectively lowers disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a real-world study of patients over a 13-year period in Denmark. “Most patients treated with [Tysabri] are clinically stable with few adverse events,” researchers wrote. In more recent years, doctors…

Clusters of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in the blood of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients appear to contribute to the nerve cell death that marks the neurodegenerative disease, according to a recent study. IgG antibodies harvested from the blood of MS patients drove nerve cell death in cell cultures, whereas antibodies…

About 2.5 years of treatment with tolebrutinib was associated with low relapse rates and stable disability levels among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data in an ongoing, open-label extension of a Phase 2b trial. The oral treatment also continued to show a “favorable”…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with greater psychological resilience — a better ability to cope with and recover quickly from problems and difficulties — tend to have higher levels of social and occupational functioning, a new study found. Resilience was linked to a number of functions, including relationships, communication, social…

OCH, a molecule designed to have beneficial effects on immune regulation in multiple sclerosis (MS), led to increases in regulatory immune cell subsets and immunomodulatory gene activity in healthy volunteers and MS patients. That’s according to data from a first-in-human study of the compound, which also found the immune…

OCS-05, a neuroprotective treatment candidate being developed by Oculis for multiple sclerosis (MS) or other causes of optic nerve inflammation, demonstrated a favorable safety and pharmacological profile in healthy volunteers, according to Phase 1 trial data. A Phase 2 trial (NCT04762017), called ACUITY, is now evaluating OCS-05’s…

Real-world use of nabiximols, an oral spray cannabinoid treatment, was associated with a self-reported easing of spasticity and related symptoms for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study in Austria. Most patients (87.5%) said they were at least partly satisfied with the therapy — available…

A bacterial toxin in the gut — specifically, the epsilon toxin produced by Clostridium perfringens bacteria in the intestinal tract — may be a key environmental driver of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study. After finding the toxin at a higher abundance in the fecal samples of MS…

Treatment with InnoCare Pharma’s orelabrutinib — an experimental inhibitor of the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) enzyme — led to significant reductions in new active brain lesions among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). That’s according to the results of a 12-week interim analysis of a global Phase 2…

An upcoming study will investigate how well icobrain MS, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology, can interpret MRI data from people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and how its use might influence patient care. The project, called AssistMS and led by Icometrix — the technology’s developer — and Queen Mary University of London…