Steve Bryson, PhD, science writer —

Long-term use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) has a beneficial cumulative effect compared to shorter treatments, delaying the development of irreversible disability and conversion to secondary progressive MS (SPMS), a recent study…

Levels of myelin sheath components called ceramides are altered in the blood of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and may be linked with retinal degeneration and physical disability, a study has found.  Specific ceramides were altered only in those with progressive…

Exposure to stress before birth can worsen the clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) during adulthood, a study in a mouse model of MS suggested. Investigators also found that prenatal stress can change the levels of a protein critical for neurological development, called…

Disability, fatigue, depression, cognitive impairment, and unemployment are primary risk factors for a poor quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent review study. Conversely, higher self-esteem, self-efficacy, resilience, and social support were identified as protective factors for quality of life (QoL).

The expansion of chronic white matter lesions in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) determined the increase in total lesion volume and significantly contributed to disease progression, a study has revealed. The study, “Expansion of chronic…

Nasal delivery of Rebif’s active ingredient interferon-beta, loaded in carbohydrate-based nanoparticles, reduced disease progression and nerve cell inflammation in a preclinical mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study demonstrated. This alternate, non-invasive, low-cost treatment strategy…

Studied for the first time, Aubagio (teriflunomide) slowed the loss of cortical grey matter and whole-brain volume in people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) during two years of therapy, a study found. The treatment was especially effective in those without brain lesions before treatment.

Lower levels of pro-inflammatory immune signaling proteins were found in the blood of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) and were associated with fewer relapses and less disability, a study has found.

The use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) increased the risk of precancerous growth in those older than 45 years of age, according to an age-related adverse events analysis of several dozen clinical trials. …

Adults with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) had fewer new and accumulated lesions, and a lower relapse rate than those treated with Gilenya (fingolimod) for 24 weeks, according to…

Using a two-pronged approach, researchers were able to restore myelin on regenerated nerve fibers in a mouse model of optic nerve injury, which has implications for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases associated with myelin loss, a study reported. The study, “…

Human placental extract eased clinical symptoms, inflammation, and weight and myelin loss in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reported.  Its researchers proposed that placental extracts be investigated as a way of better managing MS symptoms in people. …

In a nationwide survey of cannabis-based therapy use among Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS), almost half of respondents endorsed such products, primarily for nerve-based pain and sleep disturbances, and the perceived benefits for sleep and pain were highly correlated.  The reported…

Rituximab, an investigational B-cell depletion therapy that target CD20 to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS), has significant effects on the characteristics of B-cells that return after treatment is stopped, with cells being less mature yet more activated toward a pro-inflammatory state, a study showed. Treatment also…

Alterations in gut bacteria and bacterial metabolism were found in Japanese people at different stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to healthy controls, a study reports. Reduced fatty acid synthesis in gut bacteria found in those with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS)…

A comparison of immune cells isolated from identical twins — in which only one of each pair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) — identified a population of immune-regulating T-cells present in those with asymptomatic brain inflammation, a study has found. …

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) eliminated the immunity, acquired through vaccination, to the varicella-zoster virus — the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles — in a man with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a case study reported. …

A protein known as Gsta4 is critical in the growth and activity of oligodendrocytes, a special type of brain cell that generates the myelin sheath that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. The overproduction of Gsta4 in…

Inflammation drives the loss of brain volume and thinning of the eye’s retina in the first five years of a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, an imaging study demonstrates.  The findings support a therapeutic strategy of halting inflammatory activity during this initial period. …

For the first time, scientists have shown that a protein known as CD36 on the surface of some immune cells is crucial for clearing myelin debris and suppressing nerve cell inflammation in disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new…

Cigarette smoking and an Epstein–Barr virus infection together represent a significant risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS), suggesting that at least one path to this disease involves two factors working synergistically, a study reports. The study, “Smoking and Epstein–Barr virus infection in multiple sclerosis development,” was published…

The pro-inflammatory signaling protein interleukin (IL)-17A, which is associated with nerve damage in multiple sclerosis (MS), also has an opposing, and crucial, anti-inflammatory role in cells, a study reports.  These findings may explain why therapies that lower IL-17A levels have failed…

A variant of the HLA-DPB1 gene — called HLA-DPB1*04 — appears to protect people from developing multiple sclerosis (MS) either in childhood or as adults, a study from Greece suggests.

A multimedia smartphone application designed to precisely inform about exercise and track physical activity led primary or secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to be more active — but no more than a comparison patient group given only a…

Comorbidities such as anxiety and depression are associated with a significantly increased risk of relapse in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a clinical trial analysis has found.  Anxiety and abnormal blood lipids (fats) also increased the risk of any RRMS disease activity.  Based on those findings, researchers…

Cognitive problems are common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) but inadequately addressed by disease-modifying therapies, while cognitive rehabilitation and exercise training programs can be effective, a review study reported.  Research studies of exercise programs need to include larger groups of patients with demonstrated cognitive difficulties, however, and more pharmacological…

After repeated exposure to a fragment of the myelin protein — the target of autoimmune attack in multiple sclerosis (MS) — immune cells in mice were reprogrammed to be tolerant to myelin, suppressing the immune response associated with the disease, a study revealed.  Researchers showed that in these…

People in the United Kingdom (U.K.) with multiple sclerosis (MS) have an increased risk of vascular disease affecting the heart and brain that is not accounted for by traditional disease risk factors, a large, population-based study reports.  The study, “Evaluating the Risk of Macrovascular Events and…

Altered levels of molecules important for cell regulation — called microRNAs — have been found in specific immune cells isolated from the blood of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reveals. These immune cells, called monocytes, transform into macrophage cells,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given final approval to Banner Life Sciences’ Bafiertam (monomethyl fumarate), a bioequivalent alternative to Biogen’s Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) to treat people with relapsing…