Marta Figueiredo, PhD, managing science editor —

Marta holds a biology degree, a master’s in evolutionary and developmental biology, and a PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She was awarded a research scholarship and a PhD scholarship, and her research focused on the role of several signaling pathways in thymus and parathyroid glands embryonic development. She also previously worked as an assistant professor of an annual one-week embryology course at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine.

Articles by Marta Figueiredo

Biogen, MedRhythms Working on Music Therapy for MS Gait Issues

Biogen has entered a licensing agreement to develop and potentially commercialize MedRhythms‘ investigational music-based digital therapy, MR-004, designed to help make walking easier for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The partnership combines Biogen’s leadership and expertise in MS with MedRhythms’ digital therapeutics platform that uses sensors, algorithms, and music…

B-cell-depleting Therapies May Increase Risk of Psoriasis

Reports of psoriasis — an autoimmune skin disease that shares some biological processes with multiple sclerosis (MS) — are disproportionally high among MS patients on therapies that deplete B-cells, according to a U.S. study based on patient adverse event data. Conversely, patients on Tysabri (natalizumab), glatiramer acetate (sold…

Survey Results Show Impact of MS in All Aspects of Life

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects all aspects of life, from physical and mental health to relationships, and from work and finances to hobbies and holidays, according to results from an online survey conducted by the U.K.’s MS Trust. Most respondents said they wanted more support to manage their fatigue, improve…

New Imaging Techniques May Aid MS Diagnosis, Management

Physician-researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in California, are developing brain and eye imaging techniques to improve the diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is characterized by the progressive loss of myelin, the fatty protective sheath around nerve fibers, in the brain and spinal cord due to abnormal…

Australia Sets Aside $18M to Support MS Trials, EBV Research

The Australian government has announced that a record AU$18 million (about $13.5 million) from the Medical Research Future Fund will be used to support research into multiple sclerosis (MS) as part of its 2022–23 budget. Grant opportunities will focus on increasing access to clinical trials and speeding the development of effective…

8 More SPMS Patients Cleared for Foralumab Nasal Spray Treatment

Based on findings from the first two secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients given foralumab nasal spray, an experimental therapy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved starting treatment in up to eight other patients under a special access program. Those enrolled in this intermediate-size expanded access…

New Blood Biomarker Technology May Help to Predict MS Activity

Simoa, a technology that detects relevant molecules in samples with up to 1,000 times greater sensitivity than conventional methods, has helped to advance research into a blood biomarker expected to predict future disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Specifically, Quanterix‘s ultra-sensitive technology allowed an international team…

FDA Clears Leg-worn ‘Neural Sleeve’ to Aid Walking

Cionic has received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its lightweight, leg-worn Neural Sleeve to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions that affect mobility. The decision comes four months after the company submitted the device — the first to…

Stem Cell Therapy NG-01 Shows Neuroprotective Effects in Trial

Administering the stem cell therapy NG-01 — designed to have neuroprotective and neuro-regenerative properties — directly into the spinal canal can significantly reduce the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a neuronal damage biomarker, in people with active, progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). These are the new…

Masitinib Slows Disability Progression in PPMS, Non-active SPMS

Masitinib, AB Science’s experimental oral therapy, significantly slows disability progression in adults with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and non-active secondary progressive MS (SPMS), according to final data from the AB07002 Phase 2b/3 clinical trial. These findings, indicating that the trial met its main goal, support…

Bryostatin-1, Molecule to Protect Synapses, May Move Into MS Trials

  Synaptogenix announced plans to advance bryostatin-1, its lead candidate, into clinical trials for multiple sclerosis (MS), marking the third neurological disease the small molecule therapy is being developed to potentially treat. “Multiple sclerosis joins Alzheimer’s disease (“AD”) and Fragile X syndrome as our third indication with potential clinical…

Cortrophin Gel Now Widely Available in US for Acute Relapses

ANI Pharmaceuticals has announced the full U.S. commercial availability of Cortrophin Gel (repository corticotropin injection), an injectable therapy approved for managing acute relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune disorders. “Patients with certain chronic autoimmune conditions often need additional treatment options,” Mary Pao Seideman, MD,…

COVID Booster May Benefit Patients on Anti-CD20 Therapy

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with weak immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines are more likely to respond successfully to the booster shot if they are receiving an anti-CD20 therapy compared with those on Gilenya (fingolimod), according to a small study in Norway. These early findings suggest that booster shots…

1st RRMS Patient Enrolled in ENSURE-2 Trial of Oral IMU-838

The ENSURE-2 Phase 3 clinical trial, evaluating Immunic Therapeutics’ experimental oral therapy IMU-838 (vidofludimus calcium) in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), has enrolled its first patient. The milestone, announced in an email to Multiple Sclerosis News Today, follows the recruitment of the first RRMS patient in…