News

Publicity in national news outlets and an online self-screening questionnaire helped improve recruitment for a clinical trial in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a new study highlights. “We have described our experience of recruiting participants with SPMS into two large RCTs [randomized clinical trials] in order to identify areas…

A machine learning approach based on eye scans was employed by researchers to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) in children with up to 80% accuracy. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans also provided enough data to diagnose other demyelinating diseases with 75% accuracy. OCT is an imaging tool that uses…

Researchers have discovered how interferon-beta, a common treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), may be effective for people with the disease. Specifically, they found that red blood cells from MS patients have an unusually high ability to bind molecules that contribute to disease-related impairments in neuronal health and myelin repair,…

CNM-Au8, Clene Nanomedicine’s experimental oral therapy, safely and effectively improves vision and neurological function in adults with stable relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and disease-related visual impairment. Those are the findings of the VISIONARY-MS Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT03536559), a proof-of-concept study that investigated CNM-Au8 in people with…

Researchers have identified early factors that can affect the trajectory of a patient’s long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. These factors include older age, worse physical impairment, and more severe fatigue at diagnosis, which were predictive of worse long-term physical HRQoL. In addition,…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who responded to cognitive rehabilitation showed healthier connections between certain brain regions on functional MRI scans than did MS patients who did not respond to the rehab program, a new study reports. These results indicate that certain brain regions need to be working…

The first symptoms of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have been appearing increasingly later in life, according to a Spanish study covering nearly five decades. From the 1970s through the 2010s, the average age at disease onset rose by more than 10 years in both men and women, its researchers…

In its inaugural issue, a publication from The Gerontological Society of America provides information about recognizing and managing pseudobulbar affect — uncontrolled outbursts of crying or laughing that the authors say are one of the most “underrecognized and undertreated” symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions. The…

Virtual reality exergames — immersive video games whose play involves physical exercise — may be better than conventional exercise at easing certain symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), such as balance and upper limb function, a review of published studies suggested. However, differences among the evaluated studies — in matters…

Men with multiple sclerosis (MS) show differences in health-related behaviors based on how much they value certain masculine ideals, according to a new study that suggests possible negative effects of masculinity in terms of seeking medical care. Results from the study — which specifically focused on white males in…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are on therapies that deplete antibody-producing B-cells can mount an effective T-cell immune response to COVID-19 vaccination, a new study shows. The findings suggest that the vaccines strongly activate other parts of the immune system that are helpful in fighting the virus,…

Robotic-assisted gait training (RAGT) may be the most effective form of physical exercise for improving mobility among people with severe multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent review study. Other exercise types, such as conventional walking, treadmill training, and yoga, may also be feasible and effective, however, the researchers…

Pasithea Therapeutics investigational multiple sclerosis vaccine, PAS002, effectively delayed disease onset and reduced disease severity in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition, according to data from a preclinical study. The vaccine, which is designed to promote immune tolerance to a specific myelin protein, also reduced the severity…

After a relapse involving optic neuritis, or inflammation in the nerves connecting the eyes and brain, measurements of retinal thinning may predict the likelihood of full recovery from future relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The measurement could identify subclinical nerve cell damage that remains…

Transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS), a procedure sending an electric current through the skin to nerves in the legs, is generally safe and feasible in people with overactive bladder due to multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a proof-of-concept study. Though the study was not designed to test the efficacy…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are absent from their places of employment nearly twice as often as individuals without the neurodegenerative disease, according to a new study based on U.S. data. The results also showed missing work is significantly more common for MS patients who are unmarried, experience…

Tysabri (natalizumab) outperforms other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in its ability to lessen a range of patient-reported symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a large real-world study. These symptoms include balance difficulties, sensory problems, feelings of anxiety, bladder problems, vision problems, and…

Adding a specialized nurse practitioner (NP) to a neurologist-based standard care team was found to significantly lessen depression and anxiety in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a six-month study in Canada. People with multiple sclerosis — dubbed “PwMS” by researchers — who received the add-on…

By engaging a variety of stakeholders from across the multiple sclerosis (MS) community, researchers in the U.S. Deep South were able to enroll more than 800 patients to a clinical trial in just over two years in what’s considered the largest study of an exercise intervention in MS patients…

A team of researchers has created a three-dimensional (3D) map of the lymphatic vessels that drain the brain, and demonstrated that these vessels are organized similarly in mice and in humans. The researchers propose measuring these vessels using MRI scans could “allow longitudinal imaging of disease progression that may be…

Switching from a standard monthly course of Tysabri (natalizumab) to an extended-interval dosing administered every six weeks does not seem to increase neuronal damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. While individual blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, did…

Variations in more than a dozen genes on the sex-determining X chromosome are more common among those with multiple sclerosis (MS) than in the general population, according to an analysis of nearly 500,000 people in the U.K. Many of these genes are known to play roles in biological processes…

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT), a procedure that aims to “reset” the immune system, generally reduces disability and relapse rates in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new meta-analysis. “Current data encourage a broader application of AHSCT for treating patients with MS while still considering…

A set of receptors involved in dopamine signaling may play a key role in the activation of astrocytes, nerve support cells that contribute to the inflammation that drives multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative disease. Mice lacking these receptors — called dopamine…

Two years of treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) outperformed Rebif (interferon beta-1a) at preventing myelin loss in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new analysis of data from the OPERA II clinical trial. Ocrevus’ protection against demyelination was observed both in MS lesions,…

An international team of scientists is calling for more rigorous studies to test whether exercise can help protect the nervous system from damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The scientists argue clinical trials that have evaluated exercise in MS have marked flaws in their design, making…

Providing electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve, a large nerve that plays important roles in modulating nonconscious bodily processes like digestion and heart rate, can improve motor learning in mice, a new study shows. The approach specifically helped the animals learn motor tasks faster and achieve better performance levels in…

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…

When Sarah Garcia was diagnosed with the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis (MS) at age 13, she didn’t know any other young Latino women with the neurodegenerative disorder. Garcia grew up in a tight-knit Hispanic community in Socorro, Texas, near El Paso. Most of her doctors were white,…

A number of genetic variations related to vitamin D metabolism were not significantly associated with the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study. The study, “Role of Multiple Vitamin D-Related Polymorphisms in Multiple Sclerosis Severity: Preliminary Findings,” was published in Genes. In MS, the body’s immune…