Patricia Inacio, PhD, science writer —

Swoop, a consumer health data company, is launching a first of its kind algorithm that’s designed to predict treatment adherence in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) or other conditions. The aim of the new algorithm — which is based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) strategies…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are about two times more likely to have migraines than healthy people while migraines affect around 24% of people with the neurodegenerative condition, a recent meta-analysis suggests. The mechanisms behind the higher risk in MS, “continue to elude us, and further investigation is warranted…

Bowel symptoms go largely unreported among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), mostly due to the unwillingness of patients to talk about their symptoms with their doctors, according to a recent study. However, a self-reported questionnaire called Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction (NBD) may help screen patients for bowel symptoms without the…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) will be funded in New Zealand for treating certain people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) about six years after being approved there. The decision from the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (Pharmac), which decides what medicines are funded in New Zealand and to what extent, makes Ocrevus…

Cionic’s Neural Sleeve, a leg-worn garment designed to boost strength and walking performance in people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), has won multiple awards in this year’s International Design Excellence Awards program. The event, organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), is touted as one of…

A global Phase 2 clinical trial investigating the oral therapy vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) has reached full enrollment, the treatment’s developer, Immunic Therapeutics, reports. Called CALLIPER (NCT05054140), the trial is assessing whether the neuroprotective effects of vidofludimus calcium seen in…

Disability progression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) significantly reduces their quality of life, affects their ability to work, and represents a major socioeconomic cost, according to real-world data collected from a German MS registry. These results suggest that the use of disease-modifying therapies to slow MS progression…

The use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) does not seem to affect sleep quality or daytime sleepiness in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an Australian study finds. However, patients with a belief that DMT use impacted their sleep tended to have poorer sleep quality and report that the medication…

A significantly higher immune response against proteins found in cow milk is evident in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), likely because of similarities between milk proteins and proteins in the human central nervous system (CNS, the brain and spinal cord), a study reported. No such differences were seen between…

The specialty pharmaceutical company Neuraxpharm will be responsible for marketing the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Briumvi (ublituximab) in regions outside the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and certain Asian countries as part of a new collaboration with TG Therapeutics worth $140 million in upfront payments alone. Neuraxpharm is…

Following a ketogenic diet — one that’s low in carbohydrates and rich in fat — for six months significantly reduced measures of body fat and fatigue, eased disease symptoms, and improved exercise capacity, cognition, and arm and hand dexterity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study showed.

Primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) can greatly reduce quality of life for patients and affect their ability to work, according to real-world data collected from a German MS registry. These results “confirm the steadily deteriorating course of PPMS accompanied by increasingly limited quality of life,” researchers wrote. The study,…

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with elevated levels of chloride in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, may be at a higher risk of relapse, according to a study from China. Researchers propose that CSF chloride levels equal to or higher than 123.2…

Gadoquatrane, a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) that may be safer than current agents for people undergoing MRI scans, has entered a Phase 3 clinical testing program. Quanti CNS (NCT05915702), one of the three global trials in Bayer‘s development program, will assess gadoquatrane against an…

Cigarette smoking significantly slows recovery time from a relapse for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a pilot study in Iran. Similar links with relapse recovery were not seen for tobacco use with water pipes or exposure through second-hand smoke, also known as passive smoking. Findings add…

Older people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have not experienced disease activity for several years still will benefit from disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) to control the neurodegenerative disorder, a new study found. Data from a first trial assessing whether discontinuation of DMTs among these patients is at least as…

Alterations in the levels of certain fat molecules in the bloodstream are significantly associated with a higher risk of relapse and a poorer disability status in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study. It’s not yet clear if such alterations contribute to the inflammation…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) reduces brain volume loss in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) to levels similar to those seen in healthy aging, a small study reports. “These findings are consistent with an important role of inflammation on overall tissue loss and the role of ocrelizumab in…

People with multiple sclerosis and a history of chronic opioid use are nearly 200 times more likely to use prescription opioids persistently, according to a study involving nearly 15,000 U.S. military veterans living with the neurodegenerative condition. A history of pain, paralysis, post-traumatic stress disorder, or living in a…

Neurologist Robert Lisak, MD, has been named a 2023 Giant of Multiple Sclerosis for his work in understanding the mechanisms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and improving care for people with the condition. Lisak, MD, a professor of neurology and former chair of the Wayne State University Department of Neurology,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a partial clinical hold on ongoing trials of evobrutinib, Merck KGaA’s experimental BTK inhibitor for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The decision was based on two cases of patients in Phase 3 clinical trials of evobrutinib who were…

Cannabis-based products are more likely to be used by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with higher levels of disability and pain than those with lesser disability or pain, according to a study of findings in Spain and France. This “may encourage health authorities to consider relaxing the barriers to cannabis use for…

Most neurologists in the U.S. are aware of the recent approval of Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and about half anticipate testing the therapy in the next six months, according to an analysis by market research company Spherix Global Insights. The therapy, developed…

A new collaboration between ModeX Therapeutics and Merck, known as MSD outside North America, is expected to advance the development of ModeX’s MDX-2201, an investigational vaccine targeting the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). A history of infection with EBV — known for causing infectious mononucleosis, or mono, and certain…

People over 60 with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have stable disease may discontinue their disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) without an added risk of relapses or worsening disability, according to a small study. At that age, only the presence of lesions with active inflammation and an Expanded Disability…

Lapix Therapeutics has met with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine how to advance its investigational treatment candidate LPX-TI641 into clinical trials for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The pre-investigational new drug (pre-IND) meeting is usually the first formal one companies seeking to…

TG Therapeutics’ Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy), a CD20 inhibitor recently approved for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), is now commercially available in the U.S., the company announced. The treatment was approved in the U.S. late last year, with indications that include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS),…

Patient dosing has begun in a Phase 2 trial testing Denali Therapeutics‘ investigational oral RIPK1 inhibitor SAR443820 in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The clinical trial (NCT05630547) seeks to enroll about 168 patients, age 18–60, with either relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), active and nonactive secondary progressive…

The use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) by pregnant women with multiple sclerosis (MS) significantly increased over the last decade or so, and fewer of them are stopping treatment before giving birth, a single-center study in Italy reported. While most patients (95.1%) discontinued a DMT while pregnant between 2005…

Roche has teamed up with researchers in Australia to study the immune and biological mechanisms leading to better outcomes for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who are or have been pregnant. The four-year project, led by Vilija Jokubaitis, PhD, a neuroscientist and group leader at Monash University, is expected…