February 1, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Atara, Fujifilm Enter Deal to Produce Cell Therapies Atara Biotherapeutics has reached an agreement with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies for the production of its cell therapy pipeline, including ATA188, an experimental therapy being investigated for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Under the agreement, Fujifilm will acquire Atara’s T-Cell Operations and Manufacturing (ATOM) facility in Thousand…
January 26, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS How Vitamin D Modulates Immune System Activity Detailed in Study Vitamin D can influence the immune system’s tolerance to certain proteins by changing how DNA is packaged in specific immune cells called dendritic cells, according to a new study. Its findings could have implications for treating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) that are characterized by the immune system attacking…
January 25, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Study Explains How Epstein-Barr Virus Infection Could Cause MS Similarities between an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) protein and a brain protein called GlialCAM may explain why EBV infection increases the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), results from a new study show. Due to the structural resemblance of the two proteins, B-cells — a type of immune cell that is critical…
January 21, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Imaging Brain Metabolites May Help Diagnose, Monitor MS A new imaging technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, or MRSI, could be useful for diagnosing and monitoring multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a small study. “If confirmed in longitudinal clinical studies, this new neuroimaging technique could become a standard imaging tool for initial diagnosis, for disease progression and…
January 19, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Study Probes Why Some Don’t Experience Placebo Effect Differences in the physical architecture of the brain may explain why some people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but not others, experience a placebo effect, according to a new study. The results suggest that MS itself may make some individuals unable to experience the benefits of a placebo. “Our findings…
January 19, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Acthar Gel May Help RRMS Patients Who Fail Corticosteroids Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection) may be useful for managing disease relapses in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who fail to respond to treatment with corticosteroids, according to results from a small clinical trial. The study, “Results from a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study…
January 11, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS High Levels of Gut Bacterial Toxins Found in Spinal Fluid of MS Patients People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have high levels of toxic compounds made by gut bacteria in the fluid around their brain and spinal cord, a study found. “This work not only furthers our understanding of the role of gut-brain communication in neurodegenerative disease progression, but also provides a potential…
January 6, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Generics of Gilenya Not Likely in US for at Least Another Two Years A decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld the validity of a patent for dosing Novartis’ oral multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Gilenya (fingolimod), the medication’s manufacturer announced. “With this decision, Novartis confirms that it expects no generic versions of Gilenya in the…
January 6, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS New Machine Learning Algorithm Could Help in Diagnosing MS Sooner A new machine learning algorithm — designed to analyze healthcare records — could help in diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS) sooner by identifying patients’ symptoms earlier. The algorithm, devised by scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), was described in a study titled “Embedding electronic health records…
January 4, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Being a Lifelong Musician May Protect Brain From Damage of Aging Being a lifelong musician can help protect certain tracts of the brain’s white matter from damage during aging, potentially warding off conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, or dementia for years. That’s according to the study “Effects of Lifelong Musicianship on White Matter Integrity…
January 3, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Top 10 Multiple Sclerosis Stories of 2021 Multiple Sclerosis News Today brought you daily coverage of the latest scientific research, advances in treatment, and clinical trials related to multiple sclerosis (MS) throughout 2021. We look forward to continuing to be a resource for the MS community in 2022. Here are the Top 10 most-read articles of…
December 23, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Results From Trial of Simvastatin for SPMS Expected in 2025 MS-STAT2, a clinical trial testing whether the cholesterol-lowering medication simvastatin might slow disability progression in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), has finished enrollment. A total of 964 people are now in the trial (NCT03387670), making it the largest progressive MS trial not run by a commercial…
December 17, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Study: Anti-CD20 Therapies, Gilenya Lower Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccines Certain treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) — specifically, anti-CD20 antibody therapies and Gilenya (fingolimod) — are likely to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines for COVID-19, according to a new study. “Highlighting groups who have mounted an inadequate vaccine response has already been helpful in guiding who should receive…
December 16, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Little Evidence Acthar Gel Better Than Cheaper Substitutes: Review There is minimal evidence that the expensive anti-inflammatory medication Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection) is more effective than inexpensive corticosteroids for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases, according to a new review paper. “We found no evidence where it was a conclusive slam dunk that…
December 14, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Alliance Outlines Global Goals for Progressive MS Research and Care Leaders of the International Progressive MS Alliance have proposed a global research strategy to find better ways to care for people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). They detailed their proposal in the paper, “Charting a global research strategy for progressive MS—An international progressive MS…
December 13, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Higher Sunlight Exposure Tied to Reduced MS Risk in Children Children and young adults who spend more time outdoors in the sunshine are less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study, which suggests that sunshine might help to protect against the disease. “Advising regular time in the sun of at least 30 minutes daily especially…
December 13, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Imaging of Retina Can Help in Monitoring Nerve Cell Damage in MS An imaging technique called optical coherence tomography (OCT) could be useful for monitoring nervous system damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), especially early on in the disease, a study in patients reports. The study, “Optical coherence tomography in multiple sclerosis: A 3-year prospective multicenter study,”…
December 10, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS National MS Society Funds 13 New Research Projects The National MS Society has announced it is funding 13 new research projects that seek to better understand the risk factors involved in multiple sclerosis (MS) development and progression. The funding — nearly $7 million in total — also will go to “rescue” 22 MS-related research projects that…
December 8, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Report: Tecfidera, Aubagio Preferred RRMS Treatments in Canada Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) and Aubagio (teriflunomide) are the preferred disease-modifying treatments for managing relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in Canada, according to a report from Spherix Global Insights. The report was part of Spherix’s RealTime Dynamix: Multiple Sclerosis (Canada) service, which collects data on market trends of MS…
December 7, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Worsening of Disability Evident in Older Patients Who Stop DMTs While older multiple sclerosis (MS) patients whose conditions are stable commonly stop using disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a study indicates this decision can shortly lead to a marked disease worsening in a substantial portion of them. “Our results raise important questions about the accepted practice of discontinuing medications once MS…
December 3, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Immune-suppressing Medicines May Reduce COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy A class of immune-suppressing medications called TNF-alpha inhibitors can reduce the efficacy of vaccines for COVID-19, according to a study that included patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. The results also suggest that a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine may help to protect patients with…
November 30, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Some Cell Therapies Work by Dying, New Research Shows Certain cell therapies that hold promise for treating autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis might work not because of the way the cells live in the body during treatment, but because of how they die. A better understanding of how these cell therapies work “is important in designing treatment protocols…
November 24, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS 1st Patient Enrolled in ENSURE Trials of IMU-838 in RRMS Immunic Therapeutics has enrolled the first participant in its Phase 3 ENSURE clinical trial program, which is testing the company’s investigational treatment IMU-838 (vidofludimus calcium) in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). “Enrollment of the first patient in ENSURE … marks an important inflection point for Immunic as we…
November 18, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Cholesterol Made by Nerve Cells Repairs Myelin Damage in Mice Cholesterol made by neurons is crucial for repairing long-term damage to the myelin sheath, the fatty coating around nerve fibers that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new report based on experiments done on mice. The finding suggests that increasing neuronal cholesterol synthesis may be helpful…
November 17, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Vumerity Approved for RRMS in European Union The oral medication Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) has been approved by the European Commission to treat adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). “This approval is a significant step forward in improving treatment adherence for people living with relapsing MS, which can make a meaningful difference on treatment…
November 11, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS sNfL Levels Linked to Relapse-free Disability Progression, Move to SPMS Measuring levels of the protein serum neurofilament light chain (NfL)Â can help to identify people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) at higher risk of relapse-free disability progression or conversion to secondary-progressive disease, according to a study from Germany. The study, “NfL predicts relapse-free progression in a longitudinal…
November 10, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Study Sheds Light on How Tecfidera Kills Immune Cells The multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) triggers immune cell death by interacting with a protein called Keap-1, a new study reveals. The study, “Wdr1 and cofilin are necessary mediators of immune-cell-specific apoptosis triggered by Tecfidera,” was published in Nature Communications. Tecfidera is widely…
November 9, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Ocrevus Still Top Therapy for Progressive MS Forms, Report Finds Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) continues to be the most commonly prescribed therapy for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), including primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS), according to an analysis from the market intelligence firm Spherix Global Insights. However, other therapies are “gaining traction” among…
November 8, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Younger Age, Certain Lesions Linked to Higher MS Risk for RIS Patients Among people with nervous system damage indicative of multiple sclerosis (MS), but who don’t yet have the disease — a condition known as radiologically isolated syndrome or RIS — the risk of progressing to full-fledged MS is higher for those who are younger, have spinal cord lesions, and have…
November 2, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Never Drinking Alcohol Tied to ‘Significantly’ Higher MS Risk Not drinking alcohol significantly increases the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), especially if a person also is a current or former smoker, according to a new study. These findings add to the knowledge, discovered in multiple previous studies, that alcohol decreases the activity of the immune system. According…