News

Treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with rituximab leads to lower-than-reported mortality rates, according to a large real-world study in the U.S. and Sweden. The findings also revealed no deaths due to infusion reactions or to systemic inflammation. The study, “Mortality rates in large US and…

Vitamin D may increase the therapeutic benefits of glucocorticosteroids (GCs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) through a protein complex called mTORc1, according to a study in a mouse model and in cells from MS patients. The study, “Vitamin D augments glucocorticosteroid efficacy via inhibition of mTORc1,” was presented…

Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who switch to Tysabri (natalizumab) after relapses on first-line treatment with other medications show greater relapse reduction and less disability progression than those switching to Gilenya (fingolimod), according to a real-world study. The research, “Comparative effectiveness of switching…

Treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may benefit patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who are actively experiencing relapses, as they can slow the disability’s worsening, a new analysis of an MS patient registry shows. Patients…

Merck KGaA will present the latest advances made on several of its therapies aiming to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) at the 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research In Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). The conference is taking place through Friday in Berlin. The company, known as…

A new subtype of multiple sclerosis (MS) — called myelocortical MS (MCMS) — is characterized by cortical neuronal loss, but not by loss of myelin in the brain’s white matter, according to a study. Research on this new type of MS was presented today at the 34th congress of…

Novartis is seeking U.S. and European approval of its investigational oral agent siponimod to treat adults with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the company’s New Drug Application, while the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review…

In recent years, pregnancy rates have increased among women with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States, according to a retrospective study, but the rate of pregnancy complications is similar between women with MS and those who don’t have the disease. The study, “Pregnancy rates and outcomes in…

The Accelerated Cure Project (ACP) for Multiple Sclerosis and EMD Serono— a unit of Merck KGaA —  will jointly incorporate the perspectives of U.S. and Canadian multiple sclerosis (MS) patients into the design and implementation of clinical trials. The ACP, a nonprofit group based in Waltham, Massachusetts, strives to accelerate…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) has pledged $12 million to support 40 new, multi-year research projects focused on “stopping MS, restoring lost function, and ending the disease forever,” the organization announced in a press release. This commitment — the last allocation set aside for research in 2018 —…

Jonathan Kipnis, the researcher who discovered that lymphatic vessels are important mediators of the underlying molecular mechanism of multiple sclerosis (MS), has received the prestigious Director’s Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This prize recognizes researchers who have made important contributions to the development of new…

Clinical data and real-world results support the long-term efficacy of Biogen’s medications for multiple sclerosis (MS), according to scientific presentations being released by the company. Specifically, findings support the effectiveness of Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) and Tysabri (natalizumab) used early in the disease’s course, as well as the…

Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) over five years lessened upper limb disability progression in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) patients, reduced relapses and brain disease activity in patients with relapsing MS, and helped achieve no evidence of disease progression (NEDA) in a greater proportion of African-descent patients, compared to treatment…

Thousands of scientists, doctors, pharmaceutical company executives and others — representing about 100 countries — will meet for three days to discuss and debate the latest developments in multiple sclerosis (MS) at the 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, best known as…

The rate of kidney deterioration as a result of bladder dysfunction due to multiple sclerosis (MS) is low, affecting only 3 percent of the patients, a single tertiary center study shows. However, kidney deterioration is a slow process and detected only after 60 months of follow-up, highlighting the need for…

A new U.S. law designed to update and expand data on Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS) and similar illnesses will significantly advance disease research, said the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). The spending bill, signed into law Sept. 28 by President Trump, provides $5 million to the Centers for…

Genetic variants in the CPXM2, IGSF9B, and NLRP9 genes were found to potentially shape the disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS), and may be used as biomarkers to identify those with an aggressive or…

A small group of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with aggressive disease, who were treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplant in a clinical trial, reported a drop in their fatigue levels that researchers suggested was likely due to lesser inflammation. The study, “Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation improves…

Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals announced that it has begun enrolling healthy volunteers for a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of EHP-101, a potential cannabidiol treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and scleroderma. The randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study (ACTRN12618001390279p) will  investigate the safety and pharmacokinetics (how…

Multiple sclerosis patients using Rebif (interferon beta-1a) are not at an increased risk of a stroke, even if remaining on this therapy for more than two years,  a study analyzing safety data from more than a dozen clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance shows. The…

A person’s social network can have an effect on their functional disability. This is what researchers discovered when they applied an online assessment tool they developed to people at risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). The tool, developed by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Broad Institute in Boston,…

A 48-week treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) with TG Therapeutics’ investigational compound ublituximab led to a marked reduction of brain and spinal cord lesions, massive depletion of relapse-associated immune B-cells, and significantly halted disability progression, according to results from a Phase 2 clinical trial. The data…

Smoking may increase multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity, quicken disability progression, and speed the transition from relapsing to secondary progressive MS (SPMS) by as much as eight years, according to an MS Society review study. The review data shows that, although the U.K.’s National Institute for Health…

Scientists have found that a usually-overlooked signal from MRI scans indicates brain regions of nerve cell death and may help in the understanding of brain development and the early diagnosis of brain disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS),…

Nyrada, a subsidiary company of Noxopharm, discovered a set of novel compounds that can cross the blood-brain barrier and blood-nerve barriers, and inhibit a master regulator of chronic inflammation in autoimmunity called IRAK4. The Australian company believes that these novel IRAK4 inhibitors may represent an alternative strategy to…

Four disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for  multiple sclerosis — Avonex, Rebif, Betaferon, and Copaxone — are cost-effective and reduce disease progression in MS patients, especially those with relapsing-remitting disease, according to 10-year, real-world results from U.K.’s MS Risk Sharing Scheme (RSS). But the long-term benefits observed wane over…

A recent study found that elder individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience significantly less severe depressive symptoms and better quality of life than their younger counterparts. The research, “Subjective well-being differs with age in multiple sclerosis: A brief report,” was published in the journal Rehabilitation Psychology.

Mylan announced its U.S. launch of dalfampridine extended-release (ER) tablets, the authorized generic version of Acorda‘s Ampyra, that work to improve walking abilities in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Both versions of this medication come in a 10 mg tablet form. Approved generic medicines are those that…

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), an arm of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), has recommended that Gilenya (fingolimod) be approved to treat children and adolescents, ages 10 to 17, with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). If the CHMP opinion is accepted, Gilenya — marketed by…

A molecule known as Sox10 enables brain cells called astrocytes to convert into myelin-forming oligodendrocytes, a new study in mice reports. The findings suggest an approach for myelin repair in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and similar disorders, its researchers said. The study, “In vivo conversion of…