Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

Rituximab, which is sometimes used off-label for multiple sclerosis (MS), doubles the risk of hospital-treated infections, but may prevent worsening disability better than some approved disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a Swedish study finds. Hospital-treated infections were significantly associated with a higher risk of relapse-independent disability worsening among relapsing-remitting…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are about half as likely as those without the disease to have signs of the amyloid-beta plaques in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study in the U.S. “Our findings imply that some component of the biology…

Methylphenidate, a stimulant sometimes used to manage fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS), may also ease oculomotor (eye movement) symptoms and increase how quickly the brain processes visual information, according to a pilot study by Kessler Foundation in New Jersey. “Our findings suggest that methylphenidate could be a beneficial…

Can Do Multiple Sclerosis is putting together a two-day program to help newly or recently diagnosed patients and their caregivers learn more about multiple sclerosis (MS), meet others with the disease, and find strategies to adapt to a new lifestyle. Called Take Charge, the free program will…

Nearly one year of treatment with frexalimab, an antibody being developed by Sanofi, significantly reduced the blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve cell damage that typically is elevated in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s according to new data from a company-sponsored…

Two inverse vaccines from Nykode Therapeutics — developed to teach the immune system not to respond against its own body — worked to reduce disease severity in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), new data show. This adds to earlier findings that the company’s experimental approach and…

Siemens Healthineers has received the CE mark in Europe for a lab-based blood test that measures the levels of neurofilament light chain, known as NfL — a protein that gets released into the bloodstream upon damage to nerve cells — in adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis…

TG Therapeutics is conducting two post-marketing studies to determine how safe Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy) is among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or breastfeeding, as well as their babies. The goal is to generate data on the use of Briumvi during pregnancy and lactation…

The Neural Sleeve developed by Cionic significantly reduced foot drop, which is a difficulty lifting the foot that often causes people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to drag their toes when they walk. The lightweight bionic garment is cleared in the U.S. to improve mobility in MS. In…

Alexander Gow, PhD, a professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, has been awarded a grant to study how stressed oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin in the brain and spinal cord, could be at the origin of multiple sclerosis (MS). The three-year, $644,827 grant from…

For people who develop multiple sclerosis (MS), the disease can exact a toll on their ability to work and on how much they earn in the private sector, according to a study by researchers in France, who said policies need to be enacted to replace lost income. “The effects…

There’s no evidence to suggest that multiple sclerosis (MS) directly causes most cancers, but having the condition may marginally increase the likelihood of developing cervical cancer, according to a new study from China. That study found “no causal relationship between MS and 15 types of cancers except cervical cancer,”…

A subcutaneous (under-the-skin) formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) helped most adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) remain free of clinical relapses and new or worsening brain lesions, according to one-year data from the Phase 3 OCARINA II study. Given twice a year as a 10-minute injection, this formulation of Ocrevus…

Viatris has launched a generic version of low-dose Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) in the Canadian market for the treatment of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who retain the ability to walk. Called Glatiramer Acetate Injection 20 mg/mL, the product was approved in Canada as a generic of…

The risk of having a stroke, that is, a blockage in blood flow to the brain that can cause lasting damage, is about 2.5 times higher in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) than the general population, a review of multiple studies finds. The researchers called for further studies to…

Researchers have identified three distinct immune signatures in the blood of people with early multiple sclerosis (MS) that seem to be linked to specific disease trajectories and response to treatment, potentially offering a path to personalized care. “These findings represent a pivotal shift towards precision medicine in MS,” Heinz Wiendl,…

An inverse vaccine developed by Nykode Therapeutics to boost immune system tolerance to a specific protein target was able to prevent the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the disease. The vaccine, known as a Vaccibody, is designed to teach the immune system to…

People who start treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) soon after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) are at a lower risk of relapse in the long term compared with patients who start on less effective disease-modifying therapies (DMT), a study has found. Patients on Tysabri, an antibody-based therapy,…

Low levels of the estrogen hormone estradiol may be linked to worse brain damage, a new study found, offering a possible explanation as to why multiple sclerosis (MS) often progresses more rapidly in women during menopause, when levels of that sex hormone drop. However, the use of hormone…

Vitamin D supplements were associated with less severe disease in a rat model of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), but male rats tended to experience greater benefits than did females, a study into disease-related sex differences reports. This higher overall benefit may be due to nerve cells in males being…

Taking antibody-based medications for multiple sclerosis (MS) while breastfeeding does not appear to harm a child’s health or development during at least the first three years of life, according to a preliminary study of more than 180 babies. Children breastfed by mothers taking Tysabri (natalizumab), Ocrevus (ocrelizumab),…

Nearly half of all multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who participated in clinical trials — including global, pivotal studies — had one or more comorbidities, or coexisting conditions, the most common being depression and high blood pressure, a meta-analysis study found. While the rate of patients with comorbidities “may be…

People with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) being treated with an infusion CD20 inhibitor such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) can safely transition to the more recent Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy), which is given in shorter infusion times. That’s according to data from the ENHANCE Phase 3b clinical trial…

The presence of paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs), which represent areas of damage in the brain and spinal cord with chronic active inflammation, may help identify people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are more likely to have cognitive decline over time. That’s according to four-year data presented by Hannah Schwartz,…

The antihistamine clemastine accelerated disease progression by more than five times in some adults with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) who received it in a Phase 1/2 trial, new data show. Joanna Kocot, PhD, a neuroscientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), showed that this effect is at least…

Nearly one year of treatment with tolebrutinib, an oral small molecule being developed by Sanofi, failed to eliminate iron rim lesions in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a small Phase 2 clinical trial. Researchers are continuing to examine study results to determine…

Two researchers from The University of Western Australia (UWA) have received grants from MS Australia for work that may help scientists better understand how an immune system gone awry can cause multiple sclerosis (MS). Belinda Kaskow, PhD, a teaching and research fellow at UWA’s School of Biomedical Sciences,…

Both balance and endurance training can help to ease fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — but if problems with balance are a concern, then balance training would be the best choice as it targets both fatigue and balance, a small study found. The study, “Fatigue may…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have higher amounts of mitochondrial DNA in their spinal fluid, which surrounds the brain and spinal cord, than do their healthy counterparts, a small study found. Mitochondria are small cellular organelles that produce most of the energy needed to power cells. These cell powerhouses…

Black people with multiple sclerosis (MS) scored lower on tests of walking and physical function than did white patients, regardless of social determinants of health such as education or income, a U.S. study reported. These findings add to a growing understanding of how MS manifests in Black people, and…