July 19, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Rehabilitation Specialist, Susan Bennett, Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from CMSC The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC)Ā has awarded Susan E. BennettĀ one of its highest honors, the Lifetime Achievement Award. Bennett, a clinical professor of rehabilitation science at the University at BuffaloĀ and pioneer in the field of MS rehabilitation, was honored for her achievements in advancing care…
July 19, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 127 Progressive MS Patients Finish Treatment in Phase 2 Study of Ibudilast, MediciNova Reports MediciNova recently reported that half of the 255 patients enrolled in a Phase 2b clinical trialĀ (SPRINT-MS) exploring MN-166 (ibudilast) in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) had completed the 96-week-long treatment. Interim data will be analyzed by the trialās external Data Safety Monitoring Board later this year, with results…
July 19, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 127 Progressive MS Patients Finish Treatment in Phase 2 Study of Ibudilast, MediciNova Reports MediciNova recently reported that half of the 255 patients enrolled in a Phase 2b clinical trialĀ (SPRINT-MS) exploring MN-166 (ibudilast) in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) had completed the 96-week-long treatment. Interim data will be analyzed by the trialās external Data Safety Monitoring Board later this year, with results…
July 18, 2016 News by Charles Moore Closer Look at ICER, Group Now Weighing Efficacy and Benefits of RRMS Therapies The Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), the nonprofit organization thatĀ released a preliminary draft last week intended to shapeĀ the Institute’s forthcoming report onĀ the effectiveness and benefits of therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), is made up of experts in healthcare policy from across the U.S. who, through the…
July 18, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Access to MS Therapy in US Often Determined by Patients’ Insurance Coverage Individual health insurance coverage largely determinesĀ aĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patient’s access to disease modifying drugs in the United States, mainly because of the rising costs of newer medications and near-annualĀ changes in insurance policy coverage, usually making such coverage more restrictive, researchers report. Ā These twin problemsĀ oftenĀ leave MSĀ patientsĀ relying on suboptimal therapiesĀ rather than those…
July 15, 2016 News by Charles Moore Nanobionic Clothing Seen to Help Clear Body of Free Radicals Associated with MS and Other Diseases A recent study in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and ToxicologyĀ reported that the impact of disease-causing free radicals on the human body may be mitigated by wearing special, high-tech “Nanobionic” clothing for just a few hours a day. These clothes are designed to protect the body from…
July 15, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Gut Microbiome in MS Patients Seen to Favor Inflammatory Bacteria in Study A link indeed appears to exist between multiple sclerosis (MS) and unusual changes in theĀ bacterial composition ofĀ the gut, according to researchers atĀ Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). In their study, “Alterations of the human gut microbiome in multiple sclerosis,” published in the journalĀ Nature Communications,…
July 14, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Endece Granted New U.S. Patent for NDC-1308, Therapy to Induce Remyelination in MS Endece wasĀ recently issued an additional U.S. patent for its lead investigational product, NDC-1308, being developed to induce remyelination in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and prevent disease progression. Currently in late preclinical development, NDC-1308Ā is designed to repair the myelin sheath of demyelinated axons (nerve fibers), a major cause…
July 13, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Steroid Use Lowers Oxidative Stress in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Progressive MS Patients in Pilot Study AĀ pilot study inĀ patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) found a steroid treatmentĀ of benefit by decreasingĀ oxidative stressĀ in theĀ cerebrospinal fluid. The study, āOne-time intrathecal triamcinolone acetonide application alters the redox potential in cerebrospinal fluid of progressive multiple sclerosis patients: a pilot study,ā was published in the journalĀ …
July 13, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Side Effects and Convenience of MS Therapies Seen to Determine Patients’ Adherence to Them Despite the existence of several disease-modifying drugs for peopleĀ with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), patients’ satisfaction plays a critical role in their adherence to treatment. ImprovingĀ adherence should be a major concernĀ in the clinicĀ to prevent patients from evolving to more debilitating stages of the disease. AĀ team of researchers in Germany reportĀ that side…
July 12, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Cognitive Skills Maintained in RRMS Patients Treated with Gilenya or Tysabri in Yearlong Study Disease-modifying therapies, a groupĀ of treatments for peopleĀ withĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), work to stabilize patients’ cognitive functionsĀ just as they do their physical symptoms. Research, conducted over the course of a year, also reportedĀ no differences between two types of DMTs,Ā Gilenya (fingolimod) andĀ Tysabri (natalizumab). The study, ā…
July 12, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD High Depression Rates in MS Patients Tied to Brain Inflammation in Recent Study Inflammation in a brain region called the hippocampus might explain why patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) suffer from depression far more often than patients with other chronic brain diseases. The findings, described in the report āHippocampal Neuroinflammation, Functional Connectivity, and Depressive Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis,āĀ published in the…
July 11, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Gut Microbiota Seen to Differ in People with Relapsing MS, Especially Those with Active Disease Fecal samples from a group of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) showed evidence of a different gut microbiota than that found in healthy controls, and may be a non-genetic reason for the altered immune system responses seen in MS patients. The study, āMultiple sclerosis patients have…
July 11, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Workings of Common Statin, Simvastatin, Explored in Ways Relevant to Multiple Sclerosis One of the worldās most commonly used medications ā the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin ā was found to affect the immune system in a way that can be explored to treat inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers have earlier noted that simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, is beneficial for MS…
July 8, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Patients’ Personal Circumstances Largely Shape Their Views on Therapy Preferences Opinions voiced by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients as to what they most want from, and like in, an MS treatment differ widely, although delaying progression and relapsesĀ ā andĀ minimizingĀ serious side effects ā clearly score high, according to new research from theĀ University of British ColumbiaĀ in Canada. The study,Ā “Quantitative…
July 8, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Brain Atrophy in MS Patients May Soon Be More Easily and Routinely Examined Detecting brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients requires high quality scans, tooĀ expensive and complicated for routine clinical use. But this may change with a new software that simplifies the calculation of brain atrophy based on data from routine magnetic resonance images (MRI). The new toolĀ and its benefits wereĀ recently described…
July 7, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Zinbryta (Daclizumab) Approved in Europe to Treat Relapsing MS Biogen and AbbVieĀ announced that the drug ZinbrytaĀ (daclizumab) has received marketing authorization by the European Commission, and is an approved treatment across most ofĀ Europe forĀ adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Zinbryta is a self-administered, once monthly subcutaneous injection. āClinical data showed Zinbryta significantly reduced relapses, 24-week…
July 7, 2016 News by Katie McCallum H.P. Acthar Gel a Cost-Effective Option for Managing MS Relapses, Study Reports A recent study analyzing the healthcare resource use and cost of H.P. Acthar Gel, an injectable drug used to manage multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse, demonstrated that the therapy isĀ a viable alternative to plasmapheresis (PMP) and intravenous immunoglobin (IVIG). Annual direct healthcare costs encountered by MS patients in the U.S.
July 6, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD ICER Draft Report Evaluating Therapies for RRMS Now Open for Public Comment TheĀ Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER)Ā released the early draft of a paper intended toĀ informĀ a future report evaluating the effectiveness and value of disease-modifying therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The paper, called aĀ draft scopingĀ document, is titled “Disease Modifying Therapies for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Effectiveness and…
July 6, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Takes a Toll on Caregivers, Too, Especially on Their Mental Health Caregivers of peopleĀ with multiple sclerosis (MS) are often burdened by fatigue and depression, evenĀ anger,Ā all of which can unwittinglyĀ reduce the quality of care given ā although theyĀ remain quite empathetic, according to a study. The research team atĀ theĀ University of ManitobaĀ in Canada suggested that tending to the needs of people caring for…
July 5, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Tremors Linked to MS Poorly Treated with Symptomatic Medication, Study Finds Disabling tremors can affect as many as half of all peopleĀ with multiple sclerosis (MS), but they are inadequately treated because of limited therapeutic options and are not sufficiently being studied, researchers at theĀ University of Alabama at BirminghamĀ reported. Their report, “Symptomatic Management of Multiple Sclerosis-Associated Tremor Among…
July 5, 2016 News by Katie McCallum Latest Findings on RRMS Oral Therapy Tecfidera (Dimethyl Fumarate) Detailed in New Report Since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013,Ā TecfideraĀ (dimethyl fumarate) has emerged as a first-line treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of multiple sclerosis (MS). While two separate clinical trials demonstrated Tecfidera’s ability to significantly reduce both the rate of relapse…
July 2, 2016 News by Charles Moore Potential Remyelination Therapy for MS, NDC-1308, Advancing in Preclinical Studies As Multiple Sclerosis News Today reported in mid-July, Endece Neural was issued an additional U.S. patent for its lead investigational product, NDC-1308. The drug is under development to repair the myelin sheath damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), a major causing disease progression and increasing disability. The sheath, an…
July 1, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patients Want Research to Focus on a Cure, Not Possible Causes As interesting as it can be for patients with MS who hear about work being done to find the causes of multiple sclerosis, what we really want to see is research that is carried out to find a cure. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, the development of new treatments…
July 1, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD New MRI Method Has Potential to Map MS Progression and Guide Treatment Researchers working withĀ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)Ā are often faced with a problem: an average MRI brain scan produces a considerable amount of images (around 600 megabytes), but half carry distortions that make them unreadable. These āphase images,ā as they are known, are usuallyĀ discarded and their insightsĀ lost. Now, the work of researchers…
July 1, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Childhood Obesity Linked to Higher Risk of Multiple Sclerosis, Possibly by Altering Vitamin D Levels Obese children and young adults appear toĀ be at a considerably higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to researchers at the McGill University in Canada and collaborators at the University of BristolĀ in the U.K., who found a causal relationship between the two. Their study, “…
June 30, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Coherus’ Oral Therapy for Relapsing MS Seen to Reduce Brain Lesions by Half in Phase 2b Trial Coherus BioSciencesĀ recently reported that itsĀ candidate therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), CHS-131, reduced the development rate of new brain lesions by nearly 50% in previously untreated relapsing-remitting MS patients. The Phase 2b trial (NCT02638038), randomizing patients to receive either CHS-131 or placebo in a double-blind manner, also showed the…
June 30, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Vaccine to Treat Multiple Sclerosis Showing Promise and Soon to Enter Phase 3 Clinical Testing A therapeutic vaccine for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), called Xemys,Ā is showingĀ positive results in pre-clinical and clinical trials, and is soonĀ to enter Phase 3 clinical testing. Xemys was developed by researchers at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of SciencesĀ and their colleagues. While traditional vaccines are…
June 29, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD High Blood Pressure in MS Seen to Increase Risk of Disability Progression High blood pressure mayĀ be linkedĀ to greater overall disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), although the rate at which disability progresses mightĀ be slower than in patients without hypertension, a retrospective studyĀ concludes. The research, involvingĀ a large number of MS patients, helps to clarify a rather confusing range of views on how…
June 29, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD 1st Potential Therapy for Primary Progressive MS, Ocrelizumab, Under Priority Review by FDA The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is givingĀ priority review to a request to approveĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a treatment forĀ both forms of multiple sclerosis, the drug’s developer,Ā Genentech, announced. If the company’s Biologics License Application (BLA) is approved,Ā Ocrevus will become the first drug ableĀ to treat patients with either relapsing or…