Vanda Pinto, PhD, science writer —

Octave announced the commercial availability of a multiple sclerosis (MS) care program that examines various facets of a person’s disease to help determine the best course of treatment and management that’s tailored to an individual. The program, called MS Precision Care Solution, combines blood biomarker…

Treatment with interferon beta (IFN-beta) — a disease-modifying therapy that lowers inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) — was found to restore the ability of blood vessels in the brain to dilate following a stimulus. A new study suggests that this ability, called cerebrovascular reactivity or CVR, is reduced…

Prexasertib, a small molecule inhibitor that’s been tested in clinical trials for cancer, may represent a new strategy for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative conditions, a study found. The compound, which inhibits the checkpoint kinase (Chk2) protein, was found to promote nerve cell survival and regeneration after…

Infection with the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) does not appear to protect against the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), a review study has found. However, when researchers focused on studies that used microscopic assessments of tissue instead of other diagnostic methods to detect H. pylori, their data…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who report higher levels of fatigue are more likely to have lower performance scores in tests that evaluate cognitive skills, a study from Ireland suggests. Specifically, poor verbal learning abilities, visual-spatial memory, and information processing speed (IPS) were associated with higher levels of self-reported…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have significantly higher and potentially damaging blood levels of zinc and a greater activity of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme than is evident in people without MS or similar diseases, a study reported. SOD is an enzyme that requires zinc to function properly, including…

Leading a healthy cognitive and physically active lifestyle, including having a normal body weight and well-controlled blood pressure, may increase brain reserve — the brain’s ability to adapt after damage — and delay disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. The study, “Lifestyle factors…

Labcorp has launched a widely accessible test that measures the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, to screen for signs of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The test is performed on a standard blood sample taken at a hospital, at the…

Worsening disability was associated with worry about COVID-19 in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in the U.S. and Italy, a study evaluating the pandemic’s impact has found. In both countries, MS patients with greater psychological disabilities, such as depression, were more likely to have worrying thoughts, while those…

A Phase 2 clinical trial into the safety and tolerability of higher-dose temelimab as a potential therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is now complete, and top-line data is expected by late March, its developer, GeNeuro, announced. The ProTEct-MS Phase 2 trial (NCT04480307), conducted at the Karolinska…

Trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic pain condition characterized by shocks or burning sensations in the face, seems to be much more common among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) than in the general population, according to a review of published studies. This condition also is more prevalent in women with…

Protxx and the University of Victoria are partnering to explore digital biomarkers for multiple sclerosis (MS) that may improve monitoring of disease progression, and facilitate more personalized care and a better quality of life. The digital biomarkers are based on motion vibrations picked up by Protxx’s wearable “phybrata”…

The development of Delpor‘s DLP-208 implant for the treatment of moderate-to-severe spasticity, a symptom that commonly affects people with multiple sclerosis (MS), has been boosted by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. The $2.5 million grant will help the company advance DLP-208 into clinical testing, which…

The first patient who completed the ProTEct-MS Phase 2 clinical trial assessing temelimab as a treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) has entered the trial’s extension part. In the open-label extension trial, patients will switch to or continue to receive temelimab at least until next spring, when…

MS Australia is again teaming up with Jean Hailes‘ Women’s Health Week, to promote good health for all women and girls and to support the multiple sclerosis (MS) community. About three times more women than men are affected by MS. “We are pleased to again be partnering…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who experienced relapses in the previous year are more likely to have better adherence to their current treatment regimen, a cross-sectional study reports. The research also identified associations between treatment adherence and a lower body mass index (BMI), and between better perceived mental health…

Belong.Life, a developer of a networking platforms that help patients navigate and manage their disease, has added a French language option in its BelongMS app for the French-speaking Canadian community. BelongMS is a free mobile app that uses artificial intelligence algorithms to support the multiple sclerosis (MS)…

The prevalence of fatigue continues to be high among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) despite significant progress over the years in therapies that change the course of the disease, a large survey study in Norway found. The findings also show that the frequency of fatigue is higher in…

Yale University is launching CELLO, a multicenter study to investigate the efficacy of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in treating people with lesions suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS), a condition known as radiologically isolated syndrome. The Phase 4 study (NCT04877457) aims to evaluate whether short-term treatment with Ocrevus can…

Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) was given the green light by health regulators in China to treat people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) — clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS, and active secondary progressive MS. The National Medical Products Administration’s (NMPA) decision came through a priority review of clinical trial data for Tecfidera,…

Measurements of the thickness of the eye’s retina — the layer of nerve cells lining the back of the eye — could be used to predict disability progression and relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a real-world study from Austria suggests. “Our study shows that both crossectional and…

NurOwn cell therapy led to significant improvements in the physical abilities, vision, and cognition of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Phase 2 clinical trial, top-line data show. In addition to these positive efficacy results, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, NurOwn’s developer, announced that its cell-based therapy showed…

Abnormalities detected on MRI scans at the onset and within the first two years of disease may predict disability worsening in children with multiple sclerosis (MS), a nine-year study reports. Specifically, damage in the spinal cord, brain, and optic nerve plays a major role in predicting outcomes in these…

The cost of medications for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurologic disorders saw a sharp rise between 2013 and 2017 in the U.S., a study of Medicare prescription claims shows. Analysis of Medicare payments during these five years revealed that the cost of neuroimmunology therapies, mostly for MS, increased by…

Rising average temperatures may lead to a worsening of symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and a greater need for hospital care, according to a preliminary study by researchers in the U.S. Its findings will be presented at the virtual annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology,…