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Scientists have created an assay that can measure immune cells’ inflammatory attack against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a known risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers found preliminary evidence that some MS treatments, but not others, may alter the immune system’s response to EBV. The scientists said the…

Researchers have identified three distinct immune signatures in the blood of people with early multiple sclerosis (MS) that seem to be linked to specific disease trajectories and response to treatment, potentially offering a path to personalized care. “These findings represent a pivotal shift towards precision medicine in MS,” Heinz Wiendl,…

The prescribing label for Mavenclad (cladribine) in Great Britain has been extended to include the treatment of adults with active relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), as defined by clinical or imaging features. This decision made the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) the first to…

Older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) whose eating habits resemble a Mediterranean diet tend to have less disability and better quality of life, a study found. The findings suggest the Mediterranean diet is a “promising nutritional intervention to slow down disease progression of MS and to minimize disease-related symptoms…

The use of obesity medications — approved drugs for treating diabetes and promoting weight loss — is associated with a reduced chance of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to real-world data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a study found. In particular, medicines that activate a receptor…

Renowned experts in multiple sclerosis (MS) healthcare, research, and advocacy will again gather at the annual meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), slated this year for May 29 to June 1. The event, now in its 38th edition, will return to the Music City Center, in Nashville,…

An inverse vaccine developed by Nykode Therapeutics to boost immune system tolerance to a specific protein target was able to prevent the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the disease. The vaccine, known as a Vaccibody, is designed to teach the immune system to…

Helius Medical Technologies is collaborating with Lovell Government Services to make its PoNS device — designed to improve walking ability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — available to U.S. veterans and MS patients in other federal healthcare systems. The PoNS device, officially named the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator, is…

The Swank and Wahls diets, which are used by people with multiple sclerosis (MS), were associated with improvements in cognition and fatty acid blood profiles in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients, according to new analyses from the WAVES trial. Changes in omega-3 fatty acids after about three months correlated…

Kyverna Therapeutics‘ cell-based therapy KYV-101 had an acceptable safety profile and promising treatment effects when given to two people with hard-to-treat progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a case study. “We are very pleased about offering this potentially paradigm-shifting treatment opportunity to patients that have exhausted other medical…

FSD Pharma has entered an agreement to launch a Phase 1 clinical trial that will test multiple ascending doses of Lucid-21-302 — an oral treatment candidate commonly known as Lucid-MS, for all types of multiple sclerosis (MS) — in healthy volunteers. The company’s subsidiary Huge Biopharma Australia established…

People who start treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) soon after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) are at a lower risk of relapse in the long term compared with patients who start on less effective disease-modifying therapies (DMT), a study has found. Patients on Tysabri, an antibody-based therapy,…

Obesity in childhood is associated with a more than double the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in adulthood, although the overall risk is low, according to a new study. “Our study adds to the evidence that obesity in early life increases the risk for a plethora of diseases…

The French company Juvisé Pharmaceuticals has acquired the rights to develop and market the approved multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Ponvory (ponesimod) outside the U.S. and Canada. The global rights were acquired from Actelion Pharmaceuticals, the therapy’s original developer and now part of Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients diagnosed in more recent years — specifically after 2017 — were more likely to start sooner on a first MS disease-modifying therapy (DMT) than were those diagnosed between 2014 and 2016, an analysis of data from three large MS registries found. However, starting with…

High-efficacy therapies given early can significantly reduce the risk of disability worsening in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly when treatment is started while patients have fairly minimal disability, according to a new study. While lower-efficacy therapies were also associated with a reduced risk of disability progression…

Low levels of the estrogen hormone estradiol may be linked to worse brain damage, a new study found, offering a possible explanation as to why multiple sclerosis (MS) often progresses more rapidly in women during menopause, when levels of that sex hormone drop. However, the use of hormone…

Getting the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine to protect against tuberculosis (TB) or having latent (inactive) TB in young adulthood aren’t linked to the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a Norwegian study found. The study, “BCG vaccination and multiple sclerosis risk: A Norwegian cohort study,” was published in…

Measurements from smartphones and wearable devices like smartwatches can reliably provide clinically meaningful data to monitor multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study from Switzerland reports. While daily data from such devices did not prove sufficiently reliable in this small study, information generated weekly — across more than 45 different…

Treatment with the neuroprotective protein HB-EGF eased inflammation and promoted tissue recovery across various disease stages in a multiple sclerosis (MS) mouse model, recent research suggests. Researchers found that HB-EGF is produced by astrocytes, a type of nerve support cell, to ease acute inflammation early on, but this protective…

Health Canada has approved the commercial use of ETNA-MS, a software-based medical device that uses eye tracking to noninvasively measure disease severity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Short for Eye-Tracking Neurological Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis, ETNA-MS assesses disease severity based on a person’s eye movements. It’s intended for…

Two types of chemicals in household disinfectants and furniture can disrupt the development of oligodendrocytes, the brain cells chiefly responsible for making myelin, a new study shows. The finding suggests that exposure to these chemicals may be a risk factor for disorders related to myelin such as…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted SetPoint Medical, which is developing a nerve stimulator for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), into a pilot program designed to promote the development of new medical devices, the company said. The Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program…

While regulatory T-cells (Tregs) are able to promote remyelination — the repair of the myelin sheath that’s damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS) — this ability declines significantly with age, a new study shows. Based on the findings, researchers have identified molecular targets that may boost the myelin-repairing features…

Almost all of the nearly 700 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Italy who responded to a patient survey reported at least one unmet MS care need — ranging from insufficient access to primary care, social interactions, assistance, doctor-patient relationships, and information about the neurodegenerative disease. More than half…

A subset of astrocytes — a type of support cell for the central nervous system — has a form of immune-related memory that might contribute to a worsening of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to recent research. Much like immune cells, these astrocytes can remember inflammatory stimuli that they previously have…

In multiple sclerosis (MS), lesions — areas of abnormal tissue in the nervous system — start as a core of a few inflammatory immune cells, with inflammatory damage then spreading outward from these cells to form a lesion. That’s according to a new study from Sweden, in which researchers…

Note: This story was updated March 22, 2024, to note Neural Sleeve is now licensed to ship to 47 states.   Cionic has added three neurological medical centers to its national Centers of Excellence program as part of its continuing effort to expand the availability of its Neural Sleeve…

Note: This story was updated March 26, 2024, to correct the affiliations of the Multiple Sclerosis Implementation Network staff and to note changes to the program’s partners. The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) has tapped healthcare technology company Seqster to power its multicenter research and learning program, which…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a twofold higher risk of seizures compared with the general population, according to pooled data from clinical trials. Among MS patients, treatment with sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) modulators, a class of MS disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that includes the oral medications Gilenya (fingolimod),…