August 23, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Global Prevalence of SPMS Estimated, But Seen to Vary Widely Worldwide, about 22 in every 100,000 people live with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a review study analyzing data across various countries reported. Its researchers found substantial variability in SPMS rates country-by-country, with countries closer to the poles generally reporting higher prevalence than those near the equator. Rates also…
August 19, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Researchers Share Strategies to Improve Clinical Trial Recruitment Publicity in national news outlets and an online self-screening questionnaire helped improve recruitment for a clinical trial in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a new study highlights. “We have described our experience of recruiting participants with SPMS into two large RCTs [randomized clinical trials] in order to identify areas…
August 16, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Healthy Connections in Brain May Be Needed for Cognitive Rehab People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who responded to cognitive rehabilitation showed healthier connections between certain brain regions on functional MRI scans than did MS patients who did not respond to the rehab program, a new study reports. These results indicate that certain brain regions need to be working…
August 15, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Early Detection of Pseudobulbar Affect May Help Ease MS Symptom In its inaugural issue, a publication from The Gerontological Society of America provides information about recognizing and managing pseudobulbar affect — uncontrolled outbursts of crying or laughing that the authors say are one of the most “underrecognized and undertreated” symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions. The…
August 12, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Ideals on Masculinity May Guide Health Behaviors in Men With MS Men with multiple sclerosis (MS) show differences in health-related behaviors based on how much they value certain masculine ideals, according to a new study that suggests possible negative effects of masculinity in terms of seeking medical care. Results from the study — which specifically focused on white males in…
August 12, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Anti-CD20 Therapies Help Mount T-cell Response to COVID-19 Vaccines People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are on therapies that deplete antibody-producing B-cells can mount an effective T-cell immune response to COVID-19 vaccination, a new study shows. The findings suggest that the vaccines strongly activate other parts of the immune system that are helpful in fighting the virus,…
August 10, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Leg Nerve Stimulation Feasible, May Help With Overactive Bladder in MS Transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS), a procedure sending an electric current through the skin to nerves in the legs, is generally safe and feasible in people with overactive bladder due to multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a proof-of-concept study. Though the study was not designed to test the efficacy…
August 9, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS MS Patients Miss Work Nearly 2 Times as Often, US Study Finds People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are absent from their places of employment nearly twice as often as individuals without the neurodegenerative disease, according to a new study based on U.S. data. The results also showed missing work is significantly more common for MS patients who are unmarried, experience…
August 8, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Study Shares Successful Recruitment Strategies for MS Exercise Trial By engaging a variety of stakeholders from across the multiple sclerosis (MS) community, researchers in the U.S. Deep South were able to enroll more than 800 patients to a clinical trial in just over two years in what’s considered the largest study of an exercise intervention in MS patients…
August 5, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS New 3D Brain Map May Help in Disease Management: Study A team of researchers has created a three-dimensional (3D) map of the lymphatic vessels that drain the brain, and demonstrated that these vessels are organized similarly in mice and in humans. The researchers propose measuring these vessels using MRI scans could “allow longitudinal imaging of disease progression that may be…
August 4, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS X Chromosome Gene Variations Tied to 20 Times Higher MS Risk in Women Variations in more than a dozen genes on the sex-determining X chromosome are more common among those with multiple sclerosis (MS) than in the general population, according to an analysis of nearly 500,000 people in the U.K. Many of these genes are known to play roles in biological processes…
August 4, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Stem Cell Transplant Found to Reduce MS Relapses, Ease Disability Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT), a procedure that aims to “reset” the immune system, generally reduces disability and relapse rates in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new meta-analysis. “Current data encourage a broader application of AHSCT for treating patients with MS while still considering…
August 3, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Ocrevus Outperforms Rebif in Preventing Myelin Loss in Trial Two years of treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) outperformed Rebif (interferon beta-1a) at preventing myelin loss in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new analysis of data from the OPERA II clinical trial. Ocrevus’ protection against demyelination was observed both in MS lesions,…
August 2, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Research on Exercise’s Protective Effects Flawed, Researchers Say An international team of scientists is calling for more rigorous studies to test whether exercise can help protect the nervous system from damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The scientists argue clinical trials that have evaluated exercise in MS have marked flaws in their design, making…
August 2, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Vagus Nerve Stimulation Boosts Motor Learning in Mouse Model Providing electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve, a large nerve that plays important roles in modulating nonconscious bodily processes like digestion and heart rate, can improve motor learning in mice, a new study shows. The approach specifically helped the animals learn motor tasks faster and achieve better performance levels in…
July 29, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS No Link Between MS Severity, Vitamin D-related Mutations: Study A number of genetic variations related to vitamin D metabolism were not significantly associated with the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study. The study, “Role of Multiple Vitamin D-Related Polymorphisms in Multiple Sclerosis Severity: Preliminary Findings,” was published in Genes. In MS, the body’s immune…
July 27, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Novel Machine Learning Technique May Help ID Tremor Specific to MS A new machine learning strategy was able to differentiate tremor specific to multiple sclerosis (MS) from tremor related to other diseases, with more than 90% accuracy, according to a new study. “The proposed method, with high classification accuracy and strong correlations of [tremor] features to clinical outcomes, has clearly…
July 26, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Review Gives ‘Cautious Support’ to Childhood Trauma as MS Risk Factor Most available studies suggest a connection between childhood trauma and multiple sclerosis (MS), from earlier symptom onset to potentially poorer outcomes, but more research is needed to understand this association, a review paper highlights. While several high-quality studies have been published, the scientists noted “considerable heterogeneity [variability] in methodology, including inconsistencies…
July 25, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Heart Medication Digoxin Helps With Remyelination in Early Study Digoxin, an approved medication for certain heart conditions, promoted the repair of myelin — the protective sheath around nerve fibers that is progressively lost in multiple sclerosis — in mouse models of the disease, a study reports. Combining digoxin with an experimental immune-modulating therapy was more effective at promoting myelin…
July 21, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Semi-synthetic Compound Promotes Myelin Repair in MS Mice A man-made molecule derived from a naturally occurring amino acid was able to promote the repair of the myelin sheath — a fatty coating around nerve fibers that is damaged in multiple sclerosis — in a mouse model of the disease, a new study reports. “These findings suggest that ……
July 21, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Abortion Bans Are Likely to Restrict Care for MS Patients: Researchers Note: This story was updated on July 25, 2022, for the headline to reflect researchers gave this information in a perspective paper, not a study. Bans on abortion and other reproductive care limitations are likely to have a profound impact on the care of people with multiple sclerosis (MS)…
July 19, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Natalizumab, Tysabri Biosimilar, Up for Approval in Europe The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has agreed to review a request to approve Polpharma Biologics‘ biosimilar natalizumab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). This marks the first time the regulatory agency accepted a marketing authorization application for a biosimilar of Tysabri, an approved MS treatment. “The acceptance…
July 18, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Certain MS Lesions Linked to Worse Disability, but Location Not a Factor The presence of iron rim lesions (IRLs), which are regions of chronic nervous system damage with ongoing inflammation, visible on MRI scans, is linked with more substantial disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. However, the connection between these lesions and worse disability does not…
July 15, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Rituximab Outperforms Tecfidera at Preventing Relapses in Phase 3 Trial Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with rituximab were more than five times less likely to experience a relapse compared with patients given Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), according to data from a Phase 3 clinical trial. Patients on the experimental therapy also were 32% more likely to have no evidence…
July 14, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS EMBOLD Study of ATA188 in Progressive MS Is Given Go-ahead An independent committee of experts has recommended that the Phase 2 portion of the EMBOLD clinical trial continue as planned without a sample size adjustment, following an analysis of safety and effectiveness data. The trial is testing Atara Biotherapeutics‘ experimental medication ATA188 in progressive forms of multiple…
July 13, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Women with MS More Likely to Be Sexually, Emotionally Abused Rates of sexual and emotional abuse are higher in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with women in the general population, according to a new study from Norway. These women are also at more than two times higher risk of being revictimized, which occurs when a person who has…
July 12, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Aubagio May Significantly Lower Relapse Risk in Children With MS Treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) may significantly reduce the risk of relapse in children with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new analysis of the TERIKIDS clinical trial that took into account data from adult trials. Results were in the paper “Reinterpreting Clinical Trials in Children With…
July 11, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Early MS Symptoms May Help Predict Diagnosis, Disease Course Some prodromal symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) — symptoms that are evident before the disease begins in earnest — could help to predict the course of MS, a new study proposes. In particular, its researchers suggest that MS patients with prodromal depression are more likely to be diagnosed…
July 8, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Levels of Certain Inflammatory Proteins May Predict Risk of Relapse Levels of certain inflammatory proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid around the brain and spinal cord, may help predict the risk of relapse activity for individuals with early multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study found. High levels of three such proteins were predictive of a greater risk of…
July 6, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Researchers Distinguish Remyelinated Brain Lesions Via MRI An MRI technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) can be used to accurately identify remyelinated brain lesions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a research team has discovered. Remyelinated lesions are those in which the myelin sheath — the protective coating around nerve fibers that is progressively lost…