Lindsey Shapiro, PhD,  science writer—

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…

A new study of women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who had previously given birth may have identified one of the mechanisms behind the lasting protective effects of pregnancy seen in MS patients. Patients who’d had children were found to have a number of differences in methylation, a type of…

GA Depot, an experimental long-acting version of glatiramer acetate, significantly reduced relapse rates and prevented the development of new lesions among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, according to new data from a Phase 3 clinical trial. Disability levels also were significantly reduced with the treatment, given…

New data from a Phase 2 clinical trial testing vidofludimus calcium, Immunic Therapeutics’ novel oral treatment candidate for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), show promising safety and efficacy, according to the company’s chief medical officer. The therapy was found to safely reduce brain lesions and prevent disability progression in…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been considered a disease that mostly affects white women. But in the U.S., the numbers indicate that Black people, particularly Black women, may be more likely to develop the neurodegenerative disease than people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. For Black individuals, this misunderstanding…

Activating certain receptors on astrocytes — a type of nerve support cell — may offer a way of treating cognitive problems in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to recent research. MS mouse models genetically engineered to lack these receptors, called TNFR2, showed signs of greater cognitive problems, whereas cognitive gains…

Limiting calorie intake over two days of each week for three months led to beneficial immune and metabolic changes, as well as improvements in cognitive function, among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study found. A restrictive diet also promoted a better body composition, namely a reduction in…

A greater loss of myelin — the protective coating around nerve fibers — in the part of the spinal cord found in the neck was associated with worse disability in people with multiple sclerosis, data from a new study showed. More substantial myelin loss in this region, known…

A certain bacterial species is enriched in the gut of people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) and may promote neuroinflammation and drive disability progression in these patients, a study found. When isolated from SPMS patients and given to a mouse model, this strain led to more pronounced neurological…

Psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety are more common among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the five years leading up to disease onset than in people from the general population, according to a recent analysis. Individuals who would later go on to develop clinical signs of MS also…

Changes in mitochondria — cells’ energy production centers — are evident in early disease stages in a mouse model of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), but were not found in a model of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), according to researchers. These changes, seen before symptoms of the disease started, were…

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) may facilitate or “tune” the crosstalk between the gut microbiome and the immune responses that have been implicated in multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study found. Deleting this receptor in a set of immune T-cells — a suspected factor in MS onset and progression…

Eating too much salt can disrupt the energy metabolism of regulatory T-cells (Tregs), which normally work to control inflammation and fight autoimmunity, prompting them to adopt an inflammatory profile similar to what’s seen in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases, a study found. Even a short-term exposure to…

The multiple sclerosis (MS) community is gearing up for the eighth annual Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, taking place this week both virtually and in San Diego, California. The yearly meeting, occurring Feb. 23-25 at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, is bringing together…

Tascenso ODT, an approved alternative to Gilenya (fingolimod), is now available to multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the U.S., where it’s being marketed by Cycle Pharmaceuticals. The launch comes about a month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a 0.5 mg dose of the…

Nearly half of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients experience swallowing difficulties, which is notably higher than rates seen in the general population, according to a recent review study and meta-analysis. Because swallowing problems, or dysphagia, can lead to serious, sometimes life-threatening, complications, it is important for patients to be routinely…

Supplementation with coconut oil and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a green tea extract, in combination with a Mediterranean-style diet, was associated with improvements in balance and gait in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Those were the findings of a small pilot study in Spain, which also found that all participants,…