Patricia Silva, PhD, director of science content —

American TV personality Montel Williams, who uses medical cannabis to manage his multiple sclerosis symptoms, will speak at the 5th annual Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition in New York City, May 30 to June 2. A prominent medical cannabis advocate, Williams will discuss its legalization and acceptance, a movement that has…

An exploratory Phase 1/2 clinical trial in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirms the safety profile of Raxone (idebenone) at a dose of 2,250 mg daily over two years. But no difference in effectiveness was found between the Raxone-treated group…

Can Do MS has launched an MS Path 2 Care initiative that aims to help people affected by MS  be more active partners in their healthcare experience. A national non-profit organization based in Avon, Colorado, Can Do MS delivers health and wellness education programs focused on exercise, nutrition, symptom…

The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) has developed a Multiple Sclerosis Healthcare Associate (MSHA) Certification Examination for all non-licensed, educated and trained medical personnel working in multiple sclerosis (MS). The MSHA Certification Examination provides formal recognition of a specialized body of knowledge felt to be necessary to provide optimal…

Cannabis Science has created a website called iCannabinoid that it hopes will become the premier online source of medical cannabis news and information. It is seeking feedback on the site so it can tweak it as need be. It hopes to hear from  patients, doctors, patient advocates, parents, researchers, government…

Medical cannabis was found to safely and significantly reduce chronic pain in older patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and a wide range of other conditions, researchers in Israel report. Led by scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Cannabis Clinical Research Institute at Soroka University Medical…

The Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis and a Regeneron unit are teaming up to sequence the coding portion of genes in DNA samples of multiple sclerosis and other patients in the project’s repository. The cure project is a non-profit organization whose goal is to accelerate research to improve MS diagnosis and…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new dose of Sandoz’s multiple sclerosis therapy Glatopa (glatiramer acetate injection) that is twice as large as the currently authorized one. Regulators’ approval of the 40 mg/mL applies to people with relapsing forms of MS. A mg/mL designation refers to the concentration of…

An increase in multiple sclerosis cases in the Middle East and North Africa has prompted Bayer to introduce to the region an injector that patients can use to treat themselves. Researchers have suggested that increases in the region’s cases stem from many people adopting Western lifestyles, including smoking and using sun…

Deep-brain stimulation, a non-invasive way of targeting neurons in the cortex, can significantly ease symptoms of fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, research drawn from a clinical trial suggests. These results, published in the journal Neurology: Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation, are in an article titled “Safety and preliminary efficacy of deep…

Ocrevus improved vision among relapsing multiple sclerosis patients who participated in the Phase 3 clinical trials of the treatment, according to updated analyses recently presented at the ACTRIMS Forum 2018. While Ocrevus-treated patients improved their ability to read low-contrast letters over the course of the two trials, people who received Rebif (interferon beta-1a) did not. Laura J. Balcer, a neurologist at New York University Langone Medical Center, shared the data in a presentation titled, “Effect of Ocrelizumab on Visual Outcomes in Patients with Baseline Visual Impairment in the OPERA Studies in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis.” Balcer had earlier shared data on the visual outcomes of relapsing patients in the OPERA I and OPERA II Phase 3 clinical trials of Ocrevus at the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting in Paris, last year. The two studies — sponsored by Ocrevus developer Genentech, a member of the Roche group —  compared Ocrevus and Rebif in patients with relapsing MS. This time, her presentation focused only on patients who had visual impairment when they enrolled in the trials. Among a total of 1,656 participants, 375 of those treated with Ocrevus and 373 in the Rebif group had visual impairment. Researchers tested vision using a low-contrast letter acuity test. The test is similar to an ordinary vision test, with letters of different sizes on a chart. But the low-contrast test uses gray letters — instead of black — on a white background. Researchers included charts with two shades of gray to test different contrast levels. These tests can detect reduced visual function. At the beginning of the trials, both groups performed in a similar manner — correctly identifying about 35 letters on a chart with somewhat higher contrast. After 96 weeks, those receiving Ocrevus identified on average 3.4 more letters, while Rebif-treated patients worsened by 0.5 letters — a significant difference, Balcer said. Researchers tested vision every 12 weeks. At the end of the trials, they found that 39 percent more patients in the Ocrevus groups had a cumulative improvement of at least 10 letters, compared to those treated with Rebif. At this time, 26.4 percent of Ocrevus-treated patients improved 10 letters or more, compared to 19.8 percent in the Rebif group. The difference between the groups for at least seven letters was 54 percent, with Ocrevus-treated patients performing better. Researchers believe that a seven-letter change is the minimal clinically important difference for the test. Based on the results, researchers believe that the findings demonstrate Ocrevus’ ability to reverse visual impairment in relapsing MS. The ACTRIMS Forum 2018 is being held in San Diego, California, Feb. 1–3.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved technology that the Swedish company SyntheticMR developed to give doctors more information from magnetic resonance imaging scans. This means the company can begin selling its SyMRI NEURO packages to American medical facilities. Traditional MRIs offer only one level of contrast when depicting tissue. SyMRI NEURO…

Removing obstructions in large neck veins reduced multiple sclerosis patients’ headaches for several years, British and Italian researchers have demonstrated. The magnitude and duration of the effect differed among patients with different types of MS, however. Researchers also found that the treatment reduced fatigue, particularly in relapsing-remitting (RR) MS patients.

The Invisible Disabilities Association (IDA) has created a video to raise awareness about the hardships of disabilities that are real but not readily evident to passersby, and often complicate life for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other disorders. The video, called “I Am Invisible No More,” features…

CannaMD plans two medical marijuana clinics in the Orlando area to evaluate patients for entry in the Florida Medical Marijuana Use Registry. The first clinic opened Jan. 17 in the suburb of Dr. Phillips; the second will open Jan. 25 in the Lake County town of Mt. Dora. CannaMD is…

Thrombin, a blood clotting factor, may be involved in the inflammatory processes of multiple sclerosis patients,  particularly those with relapsing-remitting form of the disease (RRMS), a study found. Higher levels of thrombin may also explain the increased risk of cardiovascular disease linked to MS. By measuring thrombin levels, it may…

Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals is seeking 66 participants for a clinical trial to determine the safety and effectiveness of its injected therapy H.P. Acthar Gel as a treatment for acute relapses in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). MS relapses are flare-ups of central nervous system inflammation that damage the myelin coating that protects nerve cells. The damage disrupts the transmission of impulses between the cells, causing spikes in MS symptoms. For severe relapses that interfere with a person’s mobility, safety or ability to function, most neurologists recommend corticosteroid treatment administered intravenously or taken orally. Steroids can also be administered by injection of a gel under the skin. H.P. Acthar Gel is designed to provide extended release of steroids in the body. The trial will evaluate whether the gel is an effective treatment for RRMS patients who have been unable to recover from a relapse after receiving high-dose intravenous or oral steroids. Researchers will randomly assign participants to receive either H.P. Acthar Gel or a placebo, delivered by injection once a day for 14 days. Follow-up visits will be required at 14, 28 and 42 days. The study's main objective will be seeing whether patients' disability improves. Researchers will use a standard tool for measuring disability known as the Expanded Disability Status Scale.  Other objectives will include seeing how the therapy affects patients' fatigue, quality of life, workplace productivity, and use of healthcare resources. Participants must have a confirmed diagnosis of RRMS, be older than 18 years of age, and have experienced a relapse within 29 days of enrolling in the trial. For more information about enrollment criteria and how to participate in the trial, please contact Valerie Carvajal at (800) 556-3314 or by email at [email protected]. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced in an MS trial alert that Mallinckrodt will be  enrolling participants in Tucson; Fort Collins, Colo.; Tampa; Atlanta; Savannah, Ga.; Northbrook, Ill.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Kan.; New York; Cleveland; Dayton, Ohio; Dallas; Round Rock, Texas; San Antonio; Salt Lake City; Richmond, Va.; and Tacoma, Wash. Without clinical trial participation there is no way for patients to obtain new medicines or for scientists to ultimately find a cure for MS. The National MS Society encourages participation. It has developed a guide for patients who want to take part in studies called “Participating in Clinical Trials.” It covers the basics of participation, benefits versus risks, patient protection, costs and other important issues about trials.  

The European Commission has approved Roche’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for both relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and primary-progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) across the 28-member European Union. The commission’s move —  nearly 10 months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Ocrevus in March 2017 — makes it the first approved PPMS…

Probiotics increased the punch of treatments that decrease the inflammation associated with multiple sclerosis, a study found. Using the supplements to add helpful bacteria to the gut may be a way to improve patients’  outcomes, researchers added. The team from Harvard University-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital did not…

A $44,000 National Multiple Sclerosis Society grant will allow a researcher at the Kessler Foundation to advance her work on multiple sclerosis patients’ emotional processing challenges. Dr. Helen Genova, Kessler’s assistant director of neuropsychology and neuroscience research, has been studying cognitive dysfunction in people with various diseases, including MS. In addition to neurological problems,…

Atara Biotherapeutics has received a green light to enroll U.S. patients into a Phase 1 trial of ATA188 for progressive or relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The study was initially launched in Australia, but with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) having cleared the company’s application, the trial…

United Greeneries plans to launch online retail sales of medical cannabis in February for Canadians covered by the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations — a program for which certain multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may be eligible. United Greeneries, a unit of Harvest One Cannabis, an umbrella…

Multiple sclerosis patients whose first treatment is Genentech's Rituxan (rituximab) stay on it longer than other disease-modifying drugs that patients start with, a Swedish study reports. When they stop taking Rituxan,  it usually isn't for lack of effectiveness or side effects...

The nerve-cell-protecting myelin sheath’s failure to remove cholesterol after the membrane has been damaged limits its ability to regenerate, German researchers report. Their finding has important implications for multiple sclerosis because a hallmark of the disease is nerve cell deterioration stemming from damaged myelin. Cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance…

MMJ International Holdings is seeking a patent for a part-cannabinoid and part-non-cannabinoid treatment for multiple sclerosis and other diseases. The company said in a news release that it filed the patent request ahead of Phase 2 clinical trials of the formulation.  The therapy was developed by MMJ Bioscience, an affiliate of MMJ International…

Multiple Sclerosis News Today brought you daily coverage of important discoveries, treatment developments, clinical trials, and other events dealing with multiple sclerosis throughout 2017. We look forward to providing more news to MS patients, family members, and caregivers during 2018. As a reminder of what mattered most to you in…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated a safety bulletin about gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs), after studies raised new concerns about them. Doctors often use GBCAs to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS), monitor disease activity and verify the effectiveness of MS therapies. Gadolinium is a metal ion, or electrically charged molecule, that…

IMPAQ Health has created a calculator that will help New York State residents compare the cost of hundreds of health insurance plans. The NYPlanCosts Calculator should be particularly beneficial to people with one of eight chronic conditions — multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, hepatitis C, diabetes, HIV, schizophrenia, breast cancer and…

A cell recycling process helps trigger an immune response against myelin, the protective layer covering nerve cell axons to aid in signal transmission, a multiple sclerosis (MS) study indicates. When University of Zurich researchers eliminated the process, mice developed much milder forms of an MS-like disease. Loss of myelin is the…

University of Huddersfield researchers have developed a blood test for diagnosing multiple sclerosis that avoids the invasive, painful process of collecting fluid from the brain and spine. The team at the British discussed the test in an article titled “Sphingosine and dihydrosphingosine as biomarkers for multiple sclerosis identified by…