News

Treatment with modafinil, a medication used to reduce excessive sleepiness, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can both provide clinically meaningful reductions in fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. Combining modafinil with CBT, a form of talk therapy, wasn’t more effective for MS-related fatigue than…

Helius Medical Technologies is opposing new decisions from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that stipulate how much of the cost of its PoNS device — a neurostimulator designed to improve mobility in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — will be covered by these…

Transplanting genetically engineered oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), which give rise to mature myelin-making cells, significantly boosted myelin repair in mice with multiple sclerosis (MS)-like chronic brain lesions. The cells were engineered to ignore chemical signals that would normally inhibit OPCs being recruited into lesions and then restore…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is awarding a total of $4.6 million in funding to advance research into how the protective myelin sheath that’s damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS) can be repaired — a step toward developing new treatments for the disease. Five research projects have been chosen…

Sanofi has ended a Phase 2 clinical trial into oditrasertib, an investigational RIPK1 inhibitor therapy, in people with relapsing and progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) after it failed to meet its goals. The study, which had started dosing early last year, failed to show that oditrasertib significantly lowered…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) may have a slightly higher cancer risk than the general population, according to a recent study in France that reviewed a decade of data from more than 140,000 MS patients. The risk of bladder, brain, cervical, and kidney cancer was significantly increased in MS…

Combining the approved medication Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) with targeted therapy using a patient’s own immune cells may eventually be a promising way of treating multiple sclerosis (MS), according to recent research. The targeted therapy uses tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDCs), which are being tested in clinical trials, to make…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who better adhere to an at-home therapy regimen with the PoNS device — which provides electrical stimulation to the brain and is approved for use in combination with physical rehabilitation — may experience greater improvements in walking function. That’s according to early data…

By studying pairs of identical twins, researchers have identified a population of immune cells whose early activation and migration into the brain might contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS) onset. MS patients showed an altered profile of a population of immune cells called CD8 T-cells in the blood relative to…

SetPoint Medical is planning to launch a clinical trial next year to investigate its nerve stimulator device, intending to support myelin repair, in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The announcement comes after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of an investigational device exemption, allowing the…

The Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (FCMSC) has received a $100,000 donation from EMD Serono, known as Merck Kgaa outside North America, to honor the foundation’s late CEO June Halper by supporting a nursing scholarship fund in her memory. Halper was a former nurse practitioner…

Plasma exchange (PLEX) therapy is effective for severe relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who respond inadequately to standard corticosteroid therapy, according to a new study conducted in Serbia. Better outcomes were seen in younger patients and in those with low disability scores at the time of…

A sublingual formulation of cladribine, which is the active ingredient of the approved oral treatment Mavenclad, in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), showed comparable pharmacological properties to its name-brand counterpart. That’s according to preclinical data announced by BioNxt Solutions, the formulation’s developer, in a company press release.

Anti-CD20 therapies like Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and rituximab appear to be ineffective at slowing disability progression in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a form of the disease characterized by symptoms that steadily worsen over time, according to data from a real-world study in France. The study,…

Cionic has partnered with Lovell Government Services, a veteran-owned business, to expand veterans’ access to its Neural Sleeve, a leg-worn device to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions that affect mobility. The lightweight garment is approved in the U.S. for use…

The MS Society of Canada is hosting its annual MS Read-a-Thon, a fundraiser where children are encouraged to read for a month to support people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in their community. Funds raised will help boost the organization’s support programs for patients and research into a…

Acupuncture may be a promising complementary approach for easing fatigue and improving quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a small review study and meta-analysis. Still, the study highlighted a need for future clinical trials that use more standardized acupuncture approaches, according to the researchers,…

Poltreg will receive a patent in China that covers the administration of its cell-based therapy PTG-007 for multiple sclerosis (MS) via an injection into the spinal canal, or intrathecally. The method showed superior benefits compared with PTG-007’s intravenous infusion into the bloodstream in a Phase 1b/2a study of people…

A revised version of the McDonald criteria, a set of guidelines used to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS), is expected to include additional features that will help doctors make an accurate diagnosis at an earlier stage of the disease, even if patients have yet to manifest clinical symptoms. The…

Daily treatment with high-dose simvastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering medication, failed to slow disability progression in adults with secondary progressive disease or SPMS, according to top-line data from a Phase 3 clinical study. Jeremy Chataway, PhD, a professor of neurology at University College London (UCL) in the U.K.,…

Sanofi’s tolebrutinib significantly delayed disability progression, by 31%, and increased the rates of disability improvement compared with a placebo in people with nonrelapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), according to new data from the HERCULES Phase 3 clinical trial. The investigational BTK inhibitor also was found to significantly…

Taking high-dose cholecalciferol (vitamin D) as a supplement is safe and can nearly double the time it takes for people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), a first manifestation of neurological symptoms suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS), to experience new disease activity. That’s according to data from D-Lay-MS…

Continuous treatment with Briumvi (ublituximab) over five years was associated with low rates of relapses and confirmed disability progression among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to analyses from the open-label extension (OLE) phase of the treatment’s ULTIMATE Phase 3 trials. Relative to patients who…

A short course of treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine) can provide long-term reductions in disease activity and disability progression for as long as four years in adults with highly active, relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from the MAGNIFY-MS studies. The majority of patients had…

An online education program called “Eating Well with MS” improved the dietary behavior of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), and was deemed in a study to be practical to complete, interesting, and valuable for patients. “Our study completion rates highlight the practicality of the intervention,” the researchers evaluating the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ocrevus Zunovo (ocrelizumab and hyaluronidase-ocsq), a subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), for treating adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). The approval covers all the same indications as the original medication, including relapsing forms of MS — namely…

Neufit is encouraging people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to register for its upcoming MS Bootcamp, a three-day event that will showcase the company’s Neufit method for an intensive, specialized rehabilitation experience and connect patients to experts and a supportive community. The event will take place Nov. 8-10, at…

The pharmaceutical company Médunik Canada and Population Council, a nonprofit research organization, are teaming up to investigate the potential use of segesterone acetate, a derivative of the hormone progesterone, as a multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy. The compound is expected to promote the restoration of myelin, the…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) has updated its Pathways to Cures Roadmap to account for recent scientific advances in the search for a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). The details were provided in the report, “The refined Pathways to Cures Research Roadmap for…

A clinical trial is evaluating whether combining a cognitive rehabilitation program with a virtual reality (VR)-based aerobic exercise regimen will improve learning and memory in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and motor disability. Researchers expect the approach will show cognitive benefits via positive effects on a brain region called…