News

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…

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, ā€œOne-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 …

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…

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€œ…

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. ā€œClinical data showed Zinbryta significantly reduced relapses, 24-week…

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…

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…

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 ā€œphase images,ā€ as they are known, are usuallyĀ discarded and their insightsĀ lost. Now, the work of researchers…

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…

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…

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…