August 14, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Immune cells in skull’s bone marrow appear to have unique profile Immune cells in the skull’s bone marrow show distinct molecular profiles from those of other bones throughout the body, and they may provide critical clues into how immune cells drive inflammation in neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS) a study reports. “These findings carry profound implications, suggesting a far…
August 11, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Biomarker found for potential new disorder that’s been labeled as MS An antibody biomarker may help to distinguish people with a disease that resembles multiple sclerosis (MS), but may actually be its own clinical disorder, according to a new study. The biomarker was present in about 1% of MS patients and in 6% of those with a related demyelinating condition…
August 9, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS New PET imaging approach captures inflammation before lesions evident A new imaging technique was able to detect inflammation in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) before disease symptoms appeared, and to monitor the animals’ responses to treatment, a study reports. “With this new non-invasive imaging approach, we can detect toxic inflammation that could help us better understand…
August 8, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Cognitive health likely to affect person’s sense of sexual satisfaction Estimates of the prevalence of sexual dysfunction with multiple sclerosis (MS), as well of its risk factors, differ depending on the specific cutoffs used to assess sexual health on a standardized test, a study highlights. Regardless of the cutoff given, however, findings suggest that patients with poorer cognition tend…
July 31, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Relapses found to drive disability worsening in 1st years of MS In people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), relapses that occur in the first few years after the disease develops have a strong impact on rates of disability worsening ā but after about 2.5 years, more relapses don’t consistently result in a greater worsening of disability, according to…
July 28, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Gut bacteria may be key to activate immune cells that trigger MS Pro-inflammatory immune cells that can target the brain may be activated in a specific region of the intestine by certain gut bacteria before migrating to the brain, according to a new study done in mice. Researchers say these findings provide a proof of concept for how some immune cells may…
July 27, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Octave raises $30M to speed commercialization of care program Octave Bioscience has raised $30 million in financing to help accelerate commercialization efforts for its precision care program for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). āWe have made significant progress in deploying our solution for multiple sclerosis patients,ā William Hagstrom, founder and CEO of Octave, said in a…
July 26, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS AI model is able to predict MS risk years before disease onset A new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm could help identify people at risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). “Our model’s performance suggests that AI-based prediction models could identify the risk for multiple sclerosis years before neurological symptoms appear,” Raj Gopalan, MD, a scientist at Siemens Healthineers, Tarrytown, New York, said…
July 25, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS PB006, biosimilar of Tysabri, favored for approval in European Union The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), an arm of the European Medicines Agency, has recommended that PB006, a biosimilar version of Tysabri (natalizumab), be approved to treat adults with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The recommendation comes about a year after the regulatory agency…
July 24, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Boosting energy production in nerve fibers may help treat MS In multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammation leads to less energy production in nerve fibers by reducing the levels of enzymes in a key molecular pathway, called the TCA cycle, that cells use to generate energy, a new study shows. These findings imply that boosting activity of the TCA cycle might…
July 20, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Phase 1 trial of bryostatin-1 in MS expected by year’s end Synaptogenix is teaming up with Cleveland Clinic for a Phase 1 clinical trial involving people with multiple sclerosis (MS) that will test the company’s lead candidate, bryostatin-1 ā a therapy designed to prevent cognitive deficits in MS patients. āWe are moving forward with our clinical development plans for…
July 19, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Can elderly MS patients safely stop treatment? Study aims to find out. A first-of-its-kind study is aiming to determine whether older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) can safely stop taking disease-modifying therapies, also known as disease-modifying agents (DMAs). The project is being led by scientists at the new P-HOPER Center, officially the Population Health Outcomes and Pharmacoepidemiology Education and Research…
July 18, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS With Korro Bio merger in works, Frequency stops program for MS With a planned merger in the works, Frequency Therapeutics is no longer advancing its remyelination therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), and instead is exploring “strategic alternatives for the program,” the company has announced. The regenerative medicine company, which had aimed to develop a new approach to treating MS…
July 17, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Use of oral DMTs grew substantially since their launch: US study Since their launch in the 2010s, the use of oral disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) has increased substantially, while injectable DMTs have become less popular, according to a study based on U.S. commercial health insurance data. āWhile two injectable therapies known as platform injectables, were once the…
July 14, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Positive results found for new under-the-skin Ocrevus formulation A new formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), given as a 10-minute under-the-skin injection, was comparable to the approved intravenous version of the therapy in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to top-line results from a Phase 3 clinical trial. The medication’s developer, Roche, is planning to submit data from…
July 13, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Inflammation in brain membranes may act as trigger in MS: Study Inflammation in the membranes around the brain may trigger an inflammatory response that can spread into nearby brain tissue, a new study in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) shows. Researchers say these findings may help to advance scientists’ understanding of the mechanisms that underlie brain damage in…
June 23, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Imcyse joins EU project to develop tools to better track MS progression The biopharmaceutical company Imcyse has signed on to a new project that aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) to develop tools that can be used to better track the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). The project’s goal is to help guide treatment decisions for MS patients. Called Clinical…
June 22, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Pregnancy hormone estriol promotes myelin repair in MS mice Treatment with estriol, a hormone that’s produced during pregnancy, reduced disease severity and promoted myelin repair in the cortex ā a key brain region affected in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā in a mouse model of the disease. Those are the main findings of the study, āNeuroprotection in cerebral…
June 21, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS PoNS device wins accreditation needed to be covered by Medicare The PoNS device ā officially the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator, designed to help improve walking ability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) ā has been granted the accreditation needed for Medicare and Medicaid coverage in the U.S., according to Helius Medical Technologies, which makes the device. That designation, called…
June 14, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Ocrevus appears to be better than rituximab at preventing MS relapses Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) appears to be more effective than rituximab at reducing relapse activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), but disability progression outcomes are comparable between the therapies, an observational study of patients reported. “Study findings suggest that the effectiveness of rituximab on MS relapses was…
June 13, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS 30 years after MS was first treatable, challenges remain amid triumphs It’s been three decades since the first treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) was approved. In that time, the field has made substantial advances ā including the approval of over two dozen medications ā but there’s still a long way to go to improve care for progressive forms of…
June 13, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS DDX39B seen as ‘guardian’ in autoimmune attacks that drive MS The protein DDX39B is a master regulator of immune tolerance, or the immune system’s ability to distinguish self from potentially harmful nonself molecules, and helps to control the development of immune cells that are key for this process, a new study shows. Findings suggest that activating DDX39B with small molecules…
June 8, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Aerobic, resistance exercises most effective for patient fitness: Study For people with multiple sclerosis (MS), all forms of exercise are likely to be beneficial for physical fitness, but certain forms of exercise may be better than others at improving specific measures of fitness, according to a review of multiple clinical trials. Results suggest that resistance training ā pushing…
June 7, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Molecular mechanisms help drive microglia problems in brain in MS Disease-associated inflammatory activity of microglia ā a type of immune cell with a central role in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) ā is driven in part by molecular mechanisms that are activated when microglia try to clear the corpses of dead myelin-making cells. That’s according to a new…
June 7, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Researchers analyze switching to Kesimpta from oral therapies People with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) who experienced disease activity while on oral therapies had less disease activity after switching to Kesimpta (ofatumumab), according to an analysis of data from the Phase 3 ARTIOS clinical trial. The patients previously were on Gilenya (fingolimod), or fumarate-based therapies such…
June 6, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Novel immune cell strategy found to reverse disease in MS mice Microparticles that activate regulatory T-cells, or Tregs, an immune cell type with anti-inflammatory properties, reversed the accumulation of physical disability due to multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative disorder, a new study shows. Use of the novel strategy even cured some of the animals. “We…
June 5, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Analyses of protein levels in blood can help ID MS patient subgroups Analyses of protein levels in the blood can be used to identify groups of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with distinct clinical features, new research shows. Given the variability of symptoms among people with MS, such groupings could help to improve individualized care for patients, according to Octave, a…
June 2, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Vidofludimus calcium tolerated well for nearly 4 years Long-term treatment with vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) has been tolerated well overall among people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), new data from an extension study show. Findings were presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting, in a poster titled “Assessment of Long-Term Safety…
June 2, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Briumvi approved in Europe for active, relapsing forms of MS The European Commission has approved Briumvi (ublituximab) for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) who have active disease, as defined by clinical or imaging features. The approval, which covers all member states in the European Union, as well as Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein,…
May 26, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Average MS relapse rate lower than in past decades: UK study The average rate of relapses for multiple sclerosis (MS) in the modern era is lower than it has been in decades past, according to a new analysis from the U.K. Scientists speculate the availability of new, more effective disease-modifying therapies may help explain why relapses appear to…