Multiple Sclerosis News

FDA Grants ‘Breakthrough Therapy’ Designation to Genentech’s Ocrelizumab for PPMS

Genentech recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted its investigational medicine ocrelizumab, a potential treatment for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), Breakthrough Therapy Designation based on positive Phase 3 clinical trial results showing that ocrelizumab significantly reduced disability progression and other disease activity markers compared to placebo. The FDA designation is…

Might Chocolate Ease Multiple Sclerosis Fatigue?

A research team from Oxford Brookes University is being given a £70,000 ($107,000) grant to analyze whether dark chocolate can help ease symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The Multiple Sclerosis Society (MS Society) will fund the study. The goal of the project, according to a press release, is to investigate if a…

Could Remyelination Be Achieved in MS Using an Anti-Inflammatory Treatment?

In a recent study entitled “Promotion of Remyelination by Sulfasalazine in a Transgenic Zebrafish Model of Demyelination,” researchers investigated whether sulfasalazine treatment, an anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating drug, could promote remyelination of axons in an organism model of demyelination diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The study was published in the…

The Future of Stem Cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis Patients Relies on Clinical Trial Participation

Among the different therapeutic approaches being explored for treating MS, adult stem cell therapy continues to be one of the most discussed and anticipated in the MS community. “Stem cells” — the common term for undifferentiated, self-renewing proliferating cells — are currently being investigated for their ability to treat patients in a wide range of disease…

Does Sun Exposure in Early Years Delay MS Onset?

Exposure to sunlight may delay the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study from researchers in Denmark. The work, titled “Association between age at onset of multiple sclerosis and vitamin D level–related factors,” appeared October 7, 2015 in the journal Neurology.

MS Care: A Hot Topic at #ECTRIMS2015

Three “Hot Topic Sessions” on multiple sclerosis will take place this afternoon (17:00 – 17:45 h, GMT + 1h) at the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), currently being held in Barcelona, Spain, October 7 – 10. The first session is entitled…

Could Genentech’s Ocrelizumab Become the First Effective Primary Progressive MS Therapy?

Genentech, a leading biotechnology company and member of the Roche Group, recently announced promising results on a pivotal Phase III clinical trial (ORATORIO) assessing its investigational therapy ocrelizumab as a treatment for patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that results from…

Brain-specific B Cells’ Reactivity Determines Glatiramer Acetate Therapy Success in MS Patients

In a new study entitled “The brain antigen-specific B cell response correlates with glatiramer acetate responsiveness in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients,” a team of scientists discovered that differences in response to glatiramer acetate therapy among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is potentially dependent on the presence of reactive brain-specific B…

Clinical Benefit of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Therapies Highlighted in Review

A review study recently published in the journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Review (CDSR) focused on the clinical benefit of different therapies available for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The study is entitled “Immunomodulators and immunosuppressants for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a network meta-analysis” and was led…

Fingolimod (Gilenya) Found to Be an Effective Multiple Sclerosis Therapy for Up to Three Years of Treatment

An encouraging new analysis reveals that fingolimod is an effective multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy for a treatment period of up to three years. The results were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Consortium of MS Centers. MS is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is the result of an attack on the central nervous system…