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.

November 8, 2019November 12, 2019

2 Potassium Channels Key to Fast Transmission of Impulses Along Myelin-rich Nerve Fibers, Study Shows

News

Two potassium ion channels located at gaps between segments of myelin are required for high frequency and high-speed conduction of electrical impulses along myelin-rich nerves, a study shows. Loss of ... Read more

November 7, 2019November 7, 2019

Generic Version of Gilenya, pms-Fingolimod, Now Available for RRMS Patients in Canada

News

Pharmascience recently launched pms-Fingolimod, a generic version of Novartis’ Gilenya (fingolimod), to treat adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in Canada. The new generic is now available in that country, and has demonstrated efficacy ... Read more

October 30, 2019November 1, 2019

Vumerity Approved in US as Treatment for RRMS and Active SPMS

News, SPMS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administrationhas approved Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, including clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS , and active secondary progressive ... Read more

October 21, 2019October 21, 2019

National MS Society Awards $14.6M Supporting 43 New Research Projects

News

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) awarded $14.6 million in grants supporting 43 new and multiyear research projects into multiple sclerosis (MS), part of a projected $36 million investment in disease research for 2019, the ... Read more

October 17, 2019October 17, 2019

Rituximab Linked to Greater Risk of Infections in MS Patients in Real-world Swedish Study

News

Newer disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) are effective but also known to carry a greater risk of infections in a patient group already more likely to be troubled ... Read more

October 8, 2019October 8, 2019

Targeting Toxic T Helper Cells – Those with CXCR6 Receptor – Seen to Prevent MS in Mouse Model

News

Targeting the chemokine receptor CXCR6, a protein at the surface of a certain group of T helper cells, prevented the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of ... Read more

October 2, 2019October 2, 2019

Profiling Inflammatory Markers in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Importance in Active MS, Case Study Finds

News

Careful profiling of inflammatory markers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of multiple sclerosis patients, coupled with standard exams and scans, helps in understanding disease evolution and treatment response, a case ... Read more

September 18, 2019September 18, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – Data Shows Ublituximab’s Long-term Safety in Relapsing MS, TG Therapeutics Announced

News, SPMS

Ublituximab continues to be safe and well-tolerated by people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) after a median follow-up of 124.7 weeks — more than 2 years — ... Read more

September 18, 2019September 18, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – Acthar Gel Seen as Cost-effective Late-line Treatment Option for MS Relapses

News

Late-line use of H.P. Acthar Gel to treat relapses in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) is linked with lower costs than other therapies used after an initial poor response, including plasmapheresis ... Read more

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – Relapses Tied to Greater Medical and Personal Costs in Real-world Data

News

Relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are associated with greater medical and non-medical costs, according to real-world data from two German observational studies. These findings support early treatment ... Read more

September 16, 2019September 16, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – Nerve Cell Damage May Be Evident Years Before Symptoms Are

News

Damage to nerve cells appears to occur years before people with multiple sclerosis (MS) begin to show symptoms and is evident in a likely biomarker, new data suggest. Researchers ... Read more

September 16, 2019September 16, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – Anti-epileptic May Help to Stop Disability Progression, Study Suggests

News

Oxcarbazepine, an anti-epileptic medicine, given in combination with a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) may help to stop disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, results of Phase 2 trial suggest. ... Read more

September 13, 2019September 25, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – Younger MS Patients at Higher Risk for Cardiovascular Diseases, Large Swedish Study Finds

News

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases than the general population, according to a large Swedish nationwide study. This risk is higher for patients ... Read more

September 12, 2019September 12, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – 6 Years of Ocrevus Use Tied to Low Rates of Serious Infections

News, Ocrevus

Treatment for more than six years with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is linked to lower levels of blood antibodies among people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and relapsing MS, but rates of ... Read more

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – 10-year Data Confirm Long-term Benefits of Biogen’s Tecfidera for RRMS

News

New 10-year data from the Phase 3 ENDORSE trial confirms the long-term benefits of Biogen’s Tecfidera for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of this disease. Real-world ... Read more

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019

#ECTRIMS2019 – Real-world Data Supports Serum Neurofilament Light as Potential MS Biomarker

News

Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) in the blood — a proposed biomarker for multiple sclerosis (MS) — is linked with worse neurologic function at levels above a certain threshold, ... Read more

August 29, 2019August 29, 2019

Therapy Costs Increase More Than Sevenfold for MS Patients on Medicare, 10-Year Study Reveals

News

The out-of-pocket costs for self-administered disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on Medicare increased more than sevenfold from 2006 to 2016, according to a new study. This ... Read more

August 28, 2019August 28, 2019

MS Fatigue Linked to 3 Different Patterns of Physical Activity, Study Finds

News

The relationship between fatigue and patterns of physical activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is not straightforward. New findings show that, among MS patients with similar fatigue levels, ... Read more

August 20, 2019September 11, 2019

In Brains Damaged by MS or Age, Cells Can Be Tricked to Promote Remyelination, Study Suggests

News

Our brains — much like our joints — stiffen with age, causing brain stem cells called oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) to lose their ability to proliferate and transform into ... Read more

August 7, 2019August 7, 2019

Autoimmune Complications Associated with Lemtrada Solved Using Anti-CD20 Therapies, Case Studies Suggest

News

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients treated with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) may develop additional (secondary) autoimmune reactions. Anti-CD20 therapies, including rituximab or Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), are a potential treatment for Lemtrada-associated autoimmune complications in patients ... Read more

July 29, 2019August 2, 2019

Early Gilenya Treatment Lessens Disability Progression and Disease Activity in Young RRMS Patients, Study Shows

News

Early and continuous treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) in young  people — those ages 30 years or younger — with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) decreases the risk of disability progression, ... Read more

July 23, 2019July 23, 2019

Gilenya Approved in China for Adults and Children with Relapsing MS

News

Gilenya (fingolimod) has been approved in China as a disease-modifying therapy to treat adults and children, ages 10 and older, with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Gilenya, marketed by Novartis, ... Read more

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019

Phase 2 Trial Testing NurOwn Therapy for Progressive MS Adds Third Clinical Site

News

The Phase 2 clinical trial testing BrainStorm Cell Therapeutic’s investigational NurOwn therapy for progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) has added a third clinical site, the company announced. The trial (NCT03799718) now will ... Read more

July 11, 2019August 7, 2019

Targeting Oct1 Protein in T-cells Might Prevent Autoimmune Reactions, MS Mouse Study Finds

News

Targeting a protein found in immune T-cells called Oct1 may help prevent the misguided immune response seen in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. Most importantly, ... Read more

July 9, 2019August 7, 2019

New PET Scan Radiotracer May Help Identify Early Signs of MS Progression, Study Reports

News

A new radiotracer called PBR06, used in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, helps detect changes in the brain’s grey matter that are linked to progressive forms of multiple sclerosis ... Read more

July 3, 2019July 3, 2019

Rebif Cost-effective and Can Reduce Brain Lesions in RRMS Patients, Data Show

News

Merck KGaA presented new evidence supporting the safety and clinical efficacy of Rebif (interferon beta-1a) for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) at the 5th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), ... Read more

June 28, 2019June 28, 2019

Less-frequent Dosing with Arbaclofen ER Tablets Decreases Spasticity As Well As Standard Baclofen, MS Trial Data Show

News

Arbaclofen extended-release (ER) tablets taken twice a day can effectively reduce spasticity (muscle stiffness) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with similar potency to that of standard and more-frequently-dosed baclofen (brand name ... Read more

June 19, 2019June 19, 2019

Lemtrada Lowers Levels of Nerve Damage Biomarker Better Than Rebif, Trial Data Show

News

Treatment with Sanofi Genzyme’s Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for up to two years lowers the levels of serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL), a proposed biomarker of nerve damage, in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients ... Read more

June 17, 2019June 17, 2019

Human Blood-brain Barrier in a Chip, Created in the Lab, May Help Design New Therapies, Study Shows

News

By tweaking stem cells in a laboratory, researchers were able to generate a model of the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) in a chip. The BBB is a highly selective ... Read more

June 11, 2019June 12, 2019

Aubagio Targets Highly Metabolic Auto-reactive T-Cells, Study Shows

News

Aubagio (teriflunomide), an approved medicine for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), specifically targets highly metabolic and more autoreactive T-cells, analysis of the Phase 3 TERI-DYNAMIC clinical trial data shows. The ... Read more

June 5, 2019June 5, 2019

Blocking a Chemical Modification May Help Halt Inflammation in MS, Mouse Study Suggests

News

The pro-inflammatory protein interleukin-17 (IL-17) drives inflammation by promoting a chemical modification, called phosphorylation, in the RNA molecule of the regnase-1 enzyme, a mouse study shows. These findings support ... Read more

June 4, 2019June 11, 2019

Vumerity’s Safety, Effectiveness Bolstered by New Data from EVOLVE-MS-1 Trial

News

Vumerity (diroximel fumarate), taken as a 462 milligram (mg) tablet twice daily, significantly decreases disease activity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and leads to low rates of gastrointestinal side ... Read more

May 28, 2019May 28, 2019

Experts Gather for Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting

News

The latest research in multiple sclerosis (MS), along with the most recent advancements in treatment strategies and comprehensive care, will be presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers ... Read more

May 13, 2019May 13, 2019

#AANAM – Aubagio at Higher Dose Shows Long-term Efficacy in Variety of Patients, Trial Data Show

News

Aubagio taken as 14 milligram (mg) tablet once daily significantly reduces the risk of relapse in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) over time irrespective of their prior treatment history, ... Read more

May 2, 2019June 3, 2019

Estrogen Promotes Remyelination in Adult Brains of MS Mice, Study Shows

News

Giving estrogen to two different adult mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS), including the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, promoted remyelination, a new study shows. Exposure to the hormone affected ... Read more

April 18, 2019April 22, 2019

Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells Disrupt Blood-brain Barrier, Trigger Brain Inflammation in MS, Study Shows

News

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), the cells responsible for myelin production, are unable to migrate into sites of myelin loss in the brain. These cells then cluster and disrupt the ... Read more

April 11, 2019April 11, 2019

Tecfidera Better at Preventing Relapses than Aubagio, Real-world Study Suggests

News

Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) is more efficient at preventing relapses, and has a lower discontinuation rate than Aubagio (teriflunomide), according to a Danish study. The study “Comparative effectiveness of teriflunomide and dimethyl ... Read more

April 9, 2019April 9, 2019

U.K. Implements Stricter Rules for Gabapentin, Pregabalin Prescriptions

News

Gabapentin and pregabalin now have more restrictive rules for prescriptions in the United Kingdom. Because of concerns regarding the medications’ misuse, both were classified as class C controlled medicines. ... Read more

March 27, 2019March 29, 2019

FDA Approves Novartis’ Mayzent for Relapsing Forms of Multiple Sclerosis, Including Active SPMS

News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Novartis’ Mayzent (siponimod) oral tablets for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), including clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting ... Read more

March 8, 2019March 12, 2019

Daily Cup of Flavonoid-rich Cocoa May Help Ease MS Fatigue

News

A daily cup of flavonoid-rich cocoa may help ease fatigue in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to the results of a small clinical trial. The study “A ... Read more