Nicotine, the active agent in tobacco, and amyloid proteins, which underlie Alzheimer’s disease, bind to a receptor present in certain immune cells and work to lessen inflammation, a study reports. Activating this receptor — called the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor — was seen to ease multiple sclerosis (MS) progression in…
New research shows that overreactive and tissue-damaging T-cells can transition into regulatory T-cells that help to control the immune system’s response. These findings open the door to further understanding of the mechanism underlying this transition, knowledge that can help scientists in designing more effective, targeted immunotherapies for diseases like multiple…
Greater exposure to sunlight during the winter months — part of a person’s lifetime exposure to ultraviolet radiation — can help to lower the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), a large U.S. cohort study suggests. The study, “Lifetime exposure to ultraviolet radiation and the risk of multiple sclerosis in…
Genentech‘s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), approved in March 2017, has fueled a sea change in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the U.S., leading to an increased interest in disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for progressive forms of MS. Now, other potential treatment choices for progressive MS forms will likely…
A new fluorescent imaging strategy allows researchers to track T-cells and further understand their dynamics in vivo, giving them insight into what happens when these immune cells attack myelin in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). The new technology was reported in the study, “A timer for…
MyHealthTeams together with Biogen launched a new online tool center, called MS and Cognition Resource Center, to educate multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on brain health, and to help them better understand how MS impacts the brain and how they might manage the cognitive challenges the disease brings.
New retrospective analysis of the Phase 3 CLARITY study (NCT00213135) shows that treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine tablets) improved annualized relapse rate and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), regardless of their age. Moreover, the effectiveness of Mavenclad was comparable to five standard therapies…
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) used to assess inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients should include scans of the spinal cord and not be restricted to the brain, because brain scans alone risk underestimating disease progression, a study suggests. These results were shared in the presentation, “Measuring disease activity in…
Levels of neurofilament light chain are a reliable predictor of disease worsening and progression in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients, a new study shows. Moreover, treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod), marketed by Novartis, can reduce the levels of NfL for up to 10 years. These findings were shared recently in the presentation “…
Analysis of post-mortem brain samples from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy individuals (without neurologic disease) showed that while signs of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection are present in both groups of brains, EBV-positive immune cells were more prevalent and densely populated in the MS brain. The study reporting those findings,…
Researchers have unveiled a new cell death mechanism called pyroptosis — also known as “fiery death” — as a main factor driving neurodegeneration and loss of myelin in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). An inhibitor of pyroptosis, currently undergoing testing in human clinical trials for epilepsy, decreased central nervous system inflammation…
Inhibiting an oxidative stress enzyme called myeloperoxidase protects the blood-brain barrier in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), limiting the migration of immune cells and halting their attack on nerve cells, researchers have found. Disruption of the blood-brain barrier is a hallmark of various disorders, including MS, and when…
Patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) continue to show improvement — lesser functional disability across a variety of measures — and often without the need for continuous treatment after taking Lemtrada for two years, according to six-year results from the CARE-MS II extension study. These results were shared in a…
New results from a Phase 2 trial evaluating TG Therapeutics’ ublituximab continue to support the therapy’s efficacy in treating relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). This investigative infusion therapy is now moving into a Phase 3 study. Treatment with 450 mg of ublituximab delivered intravenously in a rapid fashion…
Oryzon Genomics will give updates on its leading investigational product ORY-2001, a brain-targeting epigenetic therapy now in a Phase 2 clinical trial recruiting multiple sclerosis patients, at a series of scientific conferences. According to a press release, these include two conferences in the United States, the 2018 BIO…
Metabolites produced by microbes in the gut can ease inflammation in the central nervous system by limiting the damage done by microglia, an immune cell of the brain, an early study reports. Its scientists suggest this gut-brain axis may open new avenues to treatment. “These findings provide a clear understanding of how…
Infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus triggers expression of a factor called TOX in immune cells strengthening their migration into the brain and promoting damaging effects, including inflammation and tissue destruction. These findings represent a new piece of the puzzle about the mechanism underlying autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS).
A potential biomarker — the ratio of antibody proteins in cerebrospinal fluid at the time of diagnosis — was seen to predict which multiple sclerosis patients will progress into full-blow disability some five years after being diagnosed in a new study. If confirmed in larger clinical studies, this biomarker could to…
A new class of indoline derivatives shows potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities capable of decreasing inflammation in the brain, new research shows. This finding highlights the potential of the new compounds in chronic inflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The study “Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Derivatives of Indoline as…
Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is linked to a reduced immune response to vaccinations in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a Phase 3 trial. These results were recently presented at the 2018 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles in a presentation titled, “Effect of Ocrelizumab on Vaccine Responses in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.” Genentech’s Ocrevus is an approved MS therapy that targets the CD20 protein located on the surface of B-cells, targeting the cells for destruction. B-cells are immune system cells involved, for example, in the production of antibodies necessary to fight off infection. At the AAN meeting, researchers reported that in MS patients, treatment with Ocrevus decreased the ability of B-cells to activate other immune cells, improving the rate of MS attacks. Penn Medicine neurologist Amit Bar-Or, MD, presented these findings, which showed that interactions between different classes of immune cells, such as B- and T-cells, promote MS attacks. Vaccination against infections is an important part of the management of patients with MS. So, in a second study (NCT02545868), researchers investigated the impact treatment with Ocrevus has on patient response to vaccines. They recruited 102 patients with relapsing MS and randomized them in two groups. In group A, 68 people received a single dose of 600 mg Ocrevus (administered into the blood); in group B, 34 patients received no disease-modifying therapy or interferon-beta. All patients were then administered vaccines for tetanus, seasonal flu, and pneumococcus. Patients in group A received the vaccines 12 weeks after they were treated with Ocrevus, while group B patients received the vaccines on day one. Researchers also tested patients’ response to a novel protein (an antigen) never "seen" by their immune system, called keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) neoantigen. The vaccinations led to an immune system response in all patients, but the level of response in patients treated with Ocrevus was lower. A positive response to the tetanus vaccine at eight weeks after treatment was 23.9% in group A (Ocrevus) compared with 54.5% in group B (no treatment); the response to pneumococcus vaccination was 71.6% in group A and 100% in group B. After four weeks of treatment, the levels of antibodies against the different strains of the flu virus were lower in Ocrevus-treated patients than in the control group, ranging from 55.6% to 80.0% in the Ocrevus group compared with 75.0% to 97.0% in the controls. The immune response to the neoantigen KLH was also decreased in the Ocrevus group. "This study shows that while people with MS treated with ocrelizumab [Ocrevus] can still mount vaccine responses, it's not nearly as strong as prior to treatment," Bar-Or said in a press release. "While antibody responses were reduced in the ocrelizumab treated patients, they still responded to a certain level," he said. "This is valuable information in terms of seasonal vaccines such as the flu — it appears safe for patients taking ocrelizumab to get vaccinated and vaccination is likely to provide them with at least some protection from such infections." These findings correlate with standard guidelines that advise patients to undergo vaccinations six weeks before they start treatment with Ocrevus.
Extending the time between standard doses of Tysabri (natalizumab) from four weeks to up to 12 weeks is linked to a significant decrease in the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients infected with what’s known as the JC virus, according to a recent analysis of data from…
Cladribine treatment leads to a selective depletion of memory B-cells in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), researchers report. The results are in the presentation “Cladribine for the Effective Control of Multiple Sclerosis via Memory B Cell Depletion” being given Friday, the final day of the 2018 Annual Meeting of the …
A one-year analysis of the ongoing Phase 3 EVOLVE-MS-1 trial of ALKS 8700 as a therapy for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) supports the experimental therapy’s effectiveness, with the treatment significantly reducing the number of MS lesions. Interim results from the trial were presented Tuesday at the…
A diet rich in fish consumption and supplemented with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is linked to a reduction of 45 percent in the risk of developing multiple sclerosis, a study shows. The results confirming previous research will be shared April 26 at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of…
Autologous non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplant was found to be significantly better at reducing risks for disability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients compared to disease-modifying drug (DMD) therapies, interim results of the MIST clinical trial show. The results will be shared at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American…
Continuous treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) or switching from Rebif (interferon beta-1a) to Ocrevus leads to a significant long-term reduction in relapsing multiple sclerosis activity, a two-year extension study shows. Ocrevus’s maker, Genentech, drew the results from an open-label extension of the Phase 3 OPERA trials. Researchers will present the findings at…
Research that points to a potential blood biomarker of multiple sclerosis (MS) severity, relates cognitive difficulties to patients’ employment and other measures of socioeconomic status, and one-year results of an ongoing clinical trial are among data presentations planned by Biogen for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). This year’s…
Investigational therapy ibudilast leads to a significant reduction of brain atrophy, supporting its potential to effectively treat progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), new data from a Phase 2 clinical trial show. These results will be shared at the upcoming 2018 Annual Meeting of the American…
Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) reduces levels of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers that denote nerve cell damage in multiple sclerosis patients, a Phase 3 clinical trial shows. Researchers will present the results at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Los Angeles, April 21-27. The presentation will be titled “Interim Analysis of the…
Higher rates of adverse effects have a negative impact on a patient’s perspective about treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), according to a survey conducted by the multiple sclerosis community GeneFo. About half of the 840 patient responses surveyed so far have reported improvements from Ocrevus. Those reporting none had a higher rate…
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