Posts by: Patricia Inacio PhD

Patricia Inacio PhD

Patricia holds her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from University Nova de Lisboa, and has served as an author on several research projects and fellowships, as well as major grant applications for European Agencies. She also served as a PhD student research assistant in the Laboratory of Doctor David A. Fidock, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University, New York.

September 3, 2020September 11, 2020

Targeting B-cells in Cerebrospinal Fluid May Lead to More Effective MS Therapies, Study Suggests

News

Immune B-cells are more abundant and have a pro-inflammatory profile in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, compared to blood in people with relapsing-remitting ... Read more

August 25, 2020August 25, 2020

Children with MS May Have More Relapses, But They Recover More Fully

News

Children with multiple sclerosis (MS) recover more quickly and “significantly better” from relapses than do adults — patients with disease onset at age 18 or older, researchers reported. The study, ... Read more

August 25, 2020August 25, 2020

Mavenclad Effectively Lowers Relapse Rates, Study Comparing DMTs Finds

News

Mavenclad (cladribine) appears to be better at lowering relapse rates during the first two years of disease in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients than other MS therapies, including interferon, Copaxone ... Read more

August 24, 2020August 24, 2020

Genetic Variants May Explain High Levels of Antibodies Against Epstein-Barr Virus in MS, Study Suggests

News

Genetic variants may contribute to increased levels of antibodies against proteins of the Epstein-Barr virus — a known environmental risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS) — in MS patients ... Read more

August 18, 2020August 19, 2020

Good Work Habits and Adjustments May Help Patients Keep Jobs

News

The degree to which people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are conscientious — a personality trait that reflects responsibility, organization, and goal-oriented skills — in their work habits can help to ... Read more

August 13, 2020August 14, 2020

Too Much Cortisol May Affect Attention of Cognitively Non-fatigue MS Patients

News

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, compared to healthy controls. Also, patients categorized as non-cognitive fatigue show a higher variability in cortisol levels and ... Read more

August 10, 2020August 10, 2020

1 in 5 MS Patients Don’t Adhere to Daily Oral DMTs, Real-world Study Finds

News

About 20%, or 1 in 5, multiple sclerosis (MS) patients fail to adhere to oral disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) taken each day, and about 1 in 4 stop using a prescribed ... Read more

August 5, 2020August 5, 2020

Coffee May Help Ease Fatigue in MS Patients With Milder Disability

News

Drinking coffee each day appears to help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and milder disability and fatigue, with this patient group reporting in a questionnaire that caffeine allowed them to ... Read more

August 3, 2020August 5, 2020

Regular Exercise Helps Preserve Key Brain Areas, Study Finds

News

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who exercise regularly are able to maintain volume in the hippocampus, a brain region responsible for learning and memory, a study reports. This work “adds ... Read more

July 31, 2020August 6, 2020

Mental Fatigue in MS May Be Due to Poorer Brain Response to Tasks

News

The debilitating mental fatigue that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can feel after a cognitively demanding task may be due to less efficient use of the brain, a pilot study ... Read more

July 9, 2020July 10, 2020

Disability Builds in Relapsing MS in Ways Not Tied to Relapses, Analysis Finds

News

Disability appears to mostly accumulate in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a progressive manner — rather than being due to relapses, a pooled analysis of ... Read more

July 8, 2020July 9, 2020

Switch from Tysabri to Ocrevus Seen as Safe, Effective in RRMS Patients in Small Study

News

Switching to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) within a relatively short period is a safe and effective option for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who stop treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab), a small and retrospective ... Read more

June 30, 2020July 7, 2020

Boosting Cellular Energy at Sites of Myelin Loss May Stop MS Progression

News

Loss of myelin in nerve cell fibers — the hallmark of multiple sclerosis (MS) — leads to a shortage of mitochondria, a cell’s powerhouse, denying these damaged fibers the energy ... Read more

June 22, 2020June 22, 2020

Hookworm Infection Seen to Boost T-cells That Regulate Immune System

News

A person infected through the skin by the hookworm Necator americanus shows a spike in regulatory T-cells, specialized immune T-cells that work to limit inflammation, and a controlled infection by ... Read more

June 16, 2020June 16, 2020

Aubagio Safely Used by 5 MS Patients With Active COVID-19 Infection

Covid-19, News

Five people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who tested positive for COVID-19 while being treated with Aubagio (teriflunomide) all developed a mild infection, had good outcomes, and experienced no disease relapses, a case ... Read more

June 5, 2020June 5, 2020

Ability to ‘Create’ Astrocytes Supports Their Damaging Role in MS, Like Diseases

News

An inflammatory environment can turn astrocytes, key supportive cells for neurons, into their killers, fostering the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. This ... Read more

June 4, 2020June 5, 2020

Gut Mucus May Help Ease MS, Other Neurological Diseases, Review Suggests

News

Tweaking the protective properties of the gut mucus, a layer lining the inside of the gut, to boost the proliferation of good bacteria potentially could halt the development of ... Read more

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020

Mindfulness Training Seen to Aid Cognitive, Emotional Well-being in Pilot Study

Covid-19, News

Four weeks of mindfulness meditation helped to improve thinking skills and a sense of emotional balance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and to a greater extent than cognitive ... Read more

May 8, 2020May 8, 2020

ZyVersa’s IC 100 Reduced Inflammation in MS Mouse Model, Study Finds

News

IC 100, a monoclonal antibody by ZyVersa Therapeutics that prevents the assembly of inflammasomes — a pro-inflammatory cellular complex — lessened inflammation and halted disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study ... Read more

May 8, 2020May 8, 2020

‘Transcient’ Damage to CNS Seen with Chemotherapy Used in Stem Cell Transplants for MS

News

A high-dose chemotherapy combination given to wipe out the immune system before its rescue with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) can cause “transient” damage to neurons and supporting cells of ... Read more

April 30, 2020May 1, 2020

New Nanosensor May Help to Diagnose MS at Early Stages

News

April 17, 2020April 17, 2020

Study of Stem Cell Therapy for Highly Active RRMS Honored by CR Forum

News

The MIST Phase 2 clinical trial, supporting the potential of hematopoietic (blood cell-producing) stem cell transplant (HSCT) to significantly slow disability progression in highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients, has received a ... Read more

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020

Small Changes in Genes May Affect Myelin Production, Study Suggests

News

The small variants seen in the DNA code among individuals may affect the ability of oligodendrocytes to produce myelin, the protective coat surrounding neurons and whose destruction is a ... Read more

March 27, 2020March 27, 2020

Potential Competitor to Acthar Gel Asking to Re-enter US Market

News

ANI Pharmaceuticals is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the right to reintroduce in the U.S. market its Cortrophin Gel (repository corticotropin injection, 80 U/ml) to ... Read more

March 25, 2020March 25, 2020

‘Talk’ Therapy Helps with Insomnia and Fatigue in MS, Trial Suggests

News

Cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of “talk” therapy, may help ease the severity of insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), improving the quality of their ... Read more

March 23, 2020March 23, 2020

Cognitive Impairment in Early MS Not Linked to Ethnicity, US Study Suggests

News

Ethnicity does not seem to have an influence on the degree of cognitive impairment seen in patients at the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), a U.S.-based study suggests. ... Read more

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020

Gilenya Linked to Slightly Increased Cancer Risk in MS, Swedish Study Suggests

News

The risk of invasive cancer may be slightly higher in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with Gilenya (fingolimod) compared with those treated with rituximab, and with people from the general ... Read more

March 16, 2020March 16, 2020

Metabolite of Gut Bacteria, as Supplement, May Regulate Immune System

News

A short-chain fatty acid produced by gut bacteria helps to counteract inflammatory responses in multiple sclerosis (MS) by promoting greater numbers of regulatory immune cells, a study reports. But ... Read more

March 9, 2020March 9, 2020

Myo Wearable Sensor Captures Subtle Movement Problems in MS

News

An multi-sensor band worn on the arm or leg, called Myo, can capture and relay difficulties with limb movement due to multiple sclerosis (MS) with an accuracy that mirrors ... Read more

March 4, 2020March 4, 2020

Natural Molecule NAC May Help Improve MS Brain Function, Study Reports

News

Treatment for two months with N-acetylcysteine, or NAC — a natural molecule that enhances the levels of antioxidants — significantly improved metabolic activity in certain brain regions among people ... Read more

March 2, 2020March 2, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Acthar Gel Ably Treats MS Relapses, Topline Data Show

News

Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection) leads to significant improvements after two months of use in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) still having acute relapses despite treatment, and who failed to ... Read more

February 28, 2020March 2, 2020

#ACTRIMS2020 – Depression in MS Linked to Worsening Neurological Function

News

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with depression are more likely to have worsening neurological function compared with those who do not have the mood disorder, results from a real-world study ... Read more

February 26, 2020February 26, 2020

Stopping Tysabri Early Tied to Active PPMS, Smoking and Depression in Patients, Study Finds

News

The likelihood of discontinuing treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) is higher among patients with progressive relapsing multiple sclerosis, and those who smoke and are depressed, a study reported. Progressive relapsing ... Read more

February 25, 2020April 1, 2020

Novartis’ Ofatumumab for Relapsing MS Up for Possible Approval by FDA and EMA

News

Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will review Novartis‘ applications seeking regulatory approval of ofatumumab, an investigational B-cell therapy for the treatment ... Read more

February 12, 2020February 12, 2020

Rituximab Appears Safe for Women to Use While Breastfeeding, Small Study Finds

News

Rituximab is barely detected in breast milk of women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who took the therapy while breastfeeding their child, small study shows. Results suggest that women with ... Read more

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020

Interleukin-17A Plays Key Role in Inflammation in MS, Mouse Study Finds

News

The immune signaling molecule interleukin-17A (IL-17A) promotes the recruiting of inflammatory cells to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) in a multiple sclerosis (MS) mouse model, a ... Read more

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplant Safe and Helps Delay MS Progression, Analysis Shows

News

Transplanting patients’ own mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a safe therapeutic approach and can delay disease progression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a meta-analysis review shows. The study also ... Read more

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020

Cerebrospinal Fluid of MS Patients More Diverse and Filled with Pro-Inflammatory Cells, Study Shows

News

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a more diverse set of immune cells in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, but no such ... Read more

January 24, 2020January 24, 2020

Mayzent Helps Regulate the Immune System in SPMS, Study Shows

News

Mayzent (siponimod), an approved oral therapy for active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), promotes a more regulatory immune system, which may explain its added benefits for SPMS, new clinical data show. ... Read more

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020

New Mechanism Boosting Myelin Regeneration May Ease MS Symptoms, Mouse Study Shows

News

Blocking a protein called PAR1 may enhance the regeneration of myelin, the protective fatty layer that covers nerve fibers and is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), a mouse study shows. ... Read more