October 30, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis Group Expands into the United States Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis (OMS), a non-profit organization that promotes a program based on a scientifically tested diet and lifestyle management with the goal of improving the health status and quality of life of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), recently announced that it will expand into the United States. OMS…
October 29, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Patients Show Real Gains from Group Exercise Program Results from a recent study published in the journal Rehabilitation Research and PracticeĀ showed the positive effects of community exercise programsĀ in multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā patients. Study participants showed physical improvements like higher energy levels and reduced fatigue, psychological benefits from those improvements and from group support and motivation, and…
October 29, 2015 News by admin Microchips May Be New Standard in Multiple Sclerosis Studies In a new article published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology, Korean researchers suggest that diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) might be better studied using compact, accessible chip technology than in current methods. The report, titled “Central Nervous System and its Disease…
October 28, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Study Explores Fatigue Management in an Organized Program In a recent study published in the journal BMJ Open, a research team explored the use of fatigue management strategies in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who attended a group-based fatigue management program. The Multiple Sclerosis Council for Clinical Practice Guidelines defines fatigue as āa subjective lack…
October 28, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutics’ Market Value to Reach $20B by 2024 RnR Market Research, a company offering market research reports on fields that include healthcare, pharmaceutical, technology, energy, and industry, recently publicized a new report on the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) and a forecast of its therapeutic market value. The report is entitled āEpiCast Report: Multiple Sclerosis – Epidemiology…
October 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Emphasizes the Role of Physicians in MS Medical Treatment Decisions The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), an organization for researchers and healthcare professionals committed to multiple sclerosis (MS) care and treatment, has recently issued a position statement claimingĀ that prescribers should have the right to make clinical decisions on the best treatments and medications in each individual MS case.
October 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 2 Forms of Multiple Sclerosis Exhibit Differences in Cognitive Performance Study In a recent study published in the journal PLOS One, a team of researchers explored the differences in cognitive performance and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates of cognitive deficits in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) and patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) to underscore the importance…
October 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Multiple Sclerosis Study Pinpoints B Cell Involvement in Disease Development A recent study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine provided new insights into the role of B cells in multiple sclerosis (MS), and points toĀ aĀ specific line ofĀ possible new therapies. The study is entitled āProinflammatory GM-CSFāproducing B cells in multiple sclerosis and B cell…
October 26, 2015 News by admin Neurons in Multiple Sclerosis Patients May be Protected by Vitamin D A new study from Sweden indicates that vitamin D could help protect nerve cellsĀ (neurons) in multiple sclerosis (MS). The report, titled “Vitamin D and axonal injury in multiple sclerosis,“ was published on October 13, 2015, in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal. Scientists have demonstrated, in…
October 23, 2015 News by Charles Moore Cannabis-Derived Sativex for MS-Related Spasticity Reported to Be Effective and Safe Barcelona, Spain-based, global pharma firm Almirall presented new clinical evidence at the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) ā held in Barcelona October 7ā10, 2015 ā supporting the efficacy of its Sativex product, currently the only pharmaceutical medicine derived from cannabinoids…
October 23, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Autoimmune Flare-Ups in Multiple Sclerosis May Be Influenced by Dietary Fat Results from a recent study published in the journal Immunity indicate thatĀ dietary fat has an influence in the duration and severity of autoimmune flare-ups in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. The team of researchers also showed that adjusting the length of the fatty acids consumed by…
October 22, 2015 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc Biogen’s TYSABRI for Secondary Progressive MS Fails to Meet Phase 3 Trial Endpoints Biogen Inc. recently reported that the Phase 3 ASCEND clinical trial study testing TYSABRI efficacy in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) did not achieve its primary and secondary goals. According to the company, the comprehensive results of the study will be revealed at a future medical conference.
October 22, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Biogen’s Investment in Multiple Sclerosis Therapies Reinforced in Company Restructuring Advancing key medicinal treatments likeĀ TECFIDERA (dimethyl fumarate), the most prescribed oral treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), is a key focus of a company-wide restructuring recently announced byĀ Biogen, Inc.Ā TECFIDERA has been shown to reduce relapse rates, slow disability progression and the number of brain lesions in patients with relapsing forms…
October 21, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Flex Pharma Presenting Data on Promising Muscle Cramp Therapeutic Agent FLX-787 at Neuroscience 2015 Flex Pharma, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on therapies for muscle cramps and spasms associated with neuromuscular conditions, recently announced that it will present new data on its therapeutic agent FLX-787 at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, currently taking place in Chicago (October 17ā21).
October 21, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Study Finds Fatigue to Be the Most Common Driver of Employment Changes in Multiple Sclerosis Patients In a recent study published in the International Journal of MS Care, a team of researchers determined that among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), fatigue was the most common symptom associated with the decision to leave work or reduce the employment status. According to the researchers, comprehensive…
October 20, 2015 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Generic Form of Glatiramer Acetate Has Equivalent Gene Expression Profile as Teva’s Copaxone In a recent study entitled āEquivalent Gene Expression Profiles between Glatopaā¢ and CopaxoneĀ®,ā authors determined potential differences in treatment responses by investigating the gene expression profile of two approved treatments for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis ā Copaxone and Glatopa. Both of these MS therapies are glatiramer…
October 20, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD RIKNO 1.0: New Risk Knowledge Assessment Tool for Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis A recently published study in the journal PLOS One reported a new tool to assess risk knowledge in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The study was conducted by an international team led by researchers at the University Medical Center Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany, and is entitled ā…
October 19, 2015 News by admin Marijuana Now Legal in Croatia for Medical Purposes, Including Multiple Sclerosis As of October 15, 2015, Croatia has been added to the list of European Union (EU) countries that now allow marijuana for medical purposes. Other countries within the EU that permit some degree of marijuana use include Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. The legalization of the sale…
October 19, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ COPAXONE 40 mg/mL Three-times-a-week Approved in Russia for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a leading global pharmaceutical company that delivers high-quality, patient-centric healthcare solutions to millions of patients every day, recently announced the approval of a Marketing Authorization license (MA) by the Russian Ministry of Health for three-times-per-week COPAXONEĀ®(glatiramer acetate injection) 40 mg/mL, a new dose of COPAXONEĀ®,…
October 16, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD GATE Trial Supports Generic Glatiramer Acetate as an Alternative Therapy for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis The Glatiramer Acetate Clinical Trial to Assess Equivalence With CopaxoneĀ (GATE) seems to be the first phase 3 clinical trial to test a generic disease-modifying medication for multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. The data showed that glatiramer acetate, the generic drug, was equivalent to the trademark drug Copaxone for the…
October 16, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researchers Develop Potential Inhibitors for Proteins Involved in Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and other Autoimmune Diseases A new study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry revealed novel potential inhibitors of specific proteins involved in the pathogenesis of cancer and autoimmune disorders, like multiple sclerosis. The study is entitled āDual Targeting of the Chemokine Receptors CXCR4 and ACKR3 with Novel…
October 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD EMD Serono Announces Publication of PRISMS-15 Years Follow-up Study Results on Rebif for RelapsingāRemitting Multiple Sclerosis EMD Serono, the U.S. biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, recently announced that the results of the 15 year follow-up trial PRISMS-15 (Prevention of Relapses and Disability by Interferon beta-1a Subcutaneously in Multiple Sclerosis) evaluating RebifĀ® (interferon beta-1a), a high-dose, high-frequency interferon beta for the treatment of…
October 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Adamas Reports Walking Improvement in MS Models with ADS-5102 (Amantadine HCl) Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on chronic conditions that affect the central nervous system, recently announced results from two non-clinical studies showing that the companyās product candidate ADS-5102 can be potentially applied as a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. MS is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative autoimmune…
October 15, 2015 News by Maureen Newman The Future of Stem Cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis Patients Relies on Clinical Trial Participation Among the different therapeuticĀ approaches being explored for treating MS,Ā adult stem cell therapy continues to beĀ one of the most discussed and anticipatedĀ in the MS community. āStem cellsā ā the common term for undifferentiated, self-renewing proliferating cells āĀ are currently being investigated for their ability to treatĀ patients in a wide range of disease…
October 14, 2015 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc Study Identifies Blood Coagulation Protein Fibrinogen as Cause of Brain Autoimmunity Researchers from the Gladstone Institutes have shown in a new study that fibrinogen, an important blood coagulation protein, can induce an autoimmune response in the central nervous system when the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is disrupted and blood proteins enter the brain. The study, entitled āBlood coagulation protein fibrinogen promotes…
October 14, 2015 News by admin Study Reports No Influence of Vitamin D Supplementation on Inflammation in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis A recentĀ study of people with relapsing remittingĀ multiple sclerosis (RRMS) found thatĀ high-dose oral vitamin D3 supplementation did not influence markers of inflammation. Inflammation is a reaction to bodily injury that may be over-activated in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).Ā The article, titled “Vitamin D supplementation and systemic inflammation in…
October 13, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Insights into Promising MS Therapies at Late Breaking News Session, ECTRIMS 2015 A session titled āLate Breaking Newsā was featured at the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Oct. 7-10, 2015, in Barcelona, Spain. At this session, Prof. Xavier Montalban from the Hospital Vall d’Hebron University in Barcelona presented data on the promising Genentech/Roche…
October 13, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Importance of Microbiota in MS Development Explored in ECTRIMS 2015 Presentation Three parallel sessions concerning multiple sclerosis (MS) prevention, clinical phenotypes and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were featured at the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), recently held in Barcelona, Spain (October 7 ā 10, 2015). The first parallel session was entitled āWill…
October 12, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Prof. Jorge Correale Reviews Environmental Factors Associated with Multiple Sclerosis at ECTRIMS 2015 Three parallel sessions concerning multiple sclerosis (MS) prevention, clinical phenotypes and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were featured at theĀ 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), recently held in Barcelona, Spain (October 7 ā 10, 2015). The first parallel session was entitled āWill MS…
October 12, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Update on Alemtuzumab (Genzyme’s Lemtrada) Clinical Trial Data Presented at ECTRIMS 2015 Multiple Sclerosis News Today recently attended the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS)Ā held in Barcelona, Spain, October 7 to 10, 2015. On Friday, October 9, three parallel sessions entitled āFree Communicationsā took place. In the first session, several topics related to multiple…