News

A Phase 2 clinical trial testing the efficacy of a common antihistamine, clemastine fumarate, to treat optic nerve damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) found the drug able to slightly reverse damage to their visual system. The  study, conducted by researchers at the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of California San…

The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting will open with the John F. Kurtzke Memorial Lecture, “Do Relapses Really Matter?”, by the renowned multiple sclerosis (MS) expert Dr. Fred D. Lublin of Mount Sinai Medical Center. The June 1 lecture offers a fresh view on recent evidence into the impact…

Sanofi Genzyme will present new data on its approved multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments — Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Aubagio (teriflunomide) — at the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), taking place in Vancouver, Canada, through April 21, as well as data on investigational therapies in its pipeline. In total, the meeting…

When the 2016 annual meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) opens June 1, marking the organization’s 30th anniversary, at its head will be its executive director, June Halper. The honor is fitting. Halper, a nurse practitioner with a specialty in multiple sclerosis (MS) since 1978, has…

Innate Immunotherapeutics, Ltd., announced that it has completed patient enrollment in its ongoing Phase 2B, placebo-controlled clinical trial assessing the efficacy and safety of the drug MIS416 as a once-weekly treatment for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). MIS416 is a biologically derived immune modulator that targets myeloid cells, a subset of innate immune cells that can…

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., announced that new data on four of its products, including an approved and a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis, will be presented at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), running through April 21 in Vancouver, Canada. The data, to be…

A range of new multiple sclerosis (MS) data from Biogen will be revealed at the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in Vancouver, Canada, on April 15–21. Presentations will include studies on Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), one of the most frequently used oral MS treatments worldwide, as well as several other…

Genentech announced that it will present new data from three Phase 3 clinical trials of its experimental multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) at the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) being held in Vancouver, Canada, from April 15–21, 2016. Additionally, results of a new endpoint for…

A systematic review of existing medical literature on multiple sclerosis (MS) could shed light on MS causes and predictors for disease progression, and on lifestyle changes — ranging from vitamin D intake to weight loss — that might reduce a person’s risk. The report, “Factors associated with onset, relapses…

Urinary tract symptoms affect a large proportion of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet their extent and type is not well-known. A study reported that among a cohort of people with the disease, almost 70 percent had urinary tract problems, adding to the extent of their disability. The study,…

MedDay SAS recently announced that it has raised €34 million, about $38.5 million, in a Series B financing round. The money will enable the company to lead a confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial, called SPI2, in the United States to assess its lead candidate, MD1003, as a treatment for progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). MedDay concluded…

PathMaker Neurosystems, Inc., recently announced the launch of an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved clinical trial, in partnership with Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MyoRegulator for the treatment of spasticity, one of the most common symptoms in multiple sclerosis…

Mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), were found to have milder symptoms if the target of natalizumab (Tysabri) — VLA4 — was absent on B-cells, preventing regulatory cells that might control immune processes from entering the brain. B-cells are increasingly thought to play…

A team of researchers suggested that cigarette smoking is associated with adverse effects to white matter in the brain, and reported that smoking may underlie the clinical course of clinically isolated syndrome, an early and potentially predictive symptom of a progression to multiple sclerosis (MS). The study, “Influence of cigarette smoking on white matter in patients with…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced that it has invested $25.3 million to support nearly 60 new research projects aiming to better understand and treat multiple sclerosis (MS), and seven clinical training awards as part of its strategic approach to eventually curing MS. This investment is part of the Society’s plan to commit a…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is funding a new survey to understand how people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) weigh risks against benefits when choosing MS therapies. The survey was developed by Dr. Robert Fox, a neurologist, working with colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic and the MS patient…

A case report of a woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who developed shingles while being treated with dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera) has raised questions of whether the drug reactivates the varicella-zoster virus. The study, “Disseminated zoster with paresis in a multiple sclerosis patient treated with dimethyl fumarate,“ was published in…

The Colorado Neurological Institute (CNI), a non-profit research and neurological care organization, will host the “Spotlight on Hope” gala and fundraising event on April 15, celebrating CNI patients, community leaders and physicians. The inaugural event, which combines the group’s Hope Awards and Gala, is part of CNI’s outreach efforts to advance public understanding of brain cancer, attacks like…

Researchers reported that patients with myelitis who later develop multiple sclerosis (MS) might be distinguished from others with myelitis by a number of characteristics, like the location and size of spinal cord lesions, a finding that might help clinicians diagnose MS and initiate treatment at an early stage. Myelitis, an…

PJSC Pharmsynthez, a pharmaceutical company based in Russia, recently announced completed follow-up findings and data analysis from a Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial of its novel therapeutic vaccine Xemys for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Xemys utilizes Xenetic Biosciences patented ImuXen technology. In the open-label, dose-escalating trial, 20 patients…

The immune system-suppressing multiple sclerosis (MS) drug fingolimod (Gilenya) also has potentially beneficial effects on the nervous system, according to a recent study, “The multiple sclerosis drug fingolimod (FTY720) stimulates neuronal gene expression, axonal growth and regeneration.“  The article appeared online March 12 in an early version of the journal …

Scientists at the Pediatric MS Center at NYU Langone, New York, reported that U.S. adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) receiving interferon-beta 1a therapy had a higher body mass index (BMI), more relapses, and were managed differently compared to patients of similar age in seven other countries. The study, “Subcutaneous…

RedHill Biopharma, Ltd. recently announced promising interim results from its ongoing CEASE-MS Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a fixed dose of RHB-104 as an add-on therapy for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). RHB-104 consists of an oral capsule formulation of an antibiotic combination therapy —…

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, in collaboration with various institutions from north America and Europe, found that teriflunomide (Aubagio) is well-tolerated and efficient for long-term treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings, entitled “Long-term safety and efficacy of teriflunomide,” were…

Editor’s note: The term B-cells is, in fact, a collective term for a group of cells having rather different properties. Some B-cells cells play a role in fighting invading pathogens or flawed cells, and can be wrongfully activated to target normal cells in autoimmune diseases. Regulatory B-cells (Bregs), instead act…

New research from Argentina explores the idea that controlling symptoms of type 2 diabetes (metabolic syndrome) can also beneficially impact multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression. The study,“Immunologic Effects of Metformin and Pioglitazone Treatment on Metabolic Syndrome and Multiple Sclerosis,“ appeared March 7 in the journal…

Neuregulin-1 is a signaling molecule of interest in the context of synaptic plasticity ­— the ability of our nerve cells to form new connections and get rid of those that are no longer needed. Now, a study showed that the factor is also indispensable for repairing myelin in models of spinal…

Researchers, working with an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), discovered that oral treatment with a synthesized plant peptide, known as cyclotide, halted the progression of clinical symptoms without side effects. The finding offers new hope for the development of an easily available and orally deliverable treatment that might slow or even…

Several clinical trials have shown that alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) effectively reduces relapse rates in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and improves disability in the early stages of the disease. A new study adds to evidence of the drug’s efficiency by finding that it affects different aspects of disability to varying degrees, a finding…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is welcoming Novartis Pharmaceuticals, for a fifth consecutive year, as a leading national sponsor of Walk MS, its annual fundraising and awareness-raising event. This year’s walks will also again feature the musician and multiple sclerosis (MS) ambassador David Osmond leading the society’s as part…