News

The 5th International Symposium on Gait and Balance in MS, held in September 2015, focused entirely on research into balance and its loss in multiple sclerosis (MS). Nearly 100 clinicians, scientists, engineers, and others sharing this research interest gathered to discuss why and how often MS patients fall, and how to…

Ralph H. Benedict, PhD, professor of neurology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo (UB), has been selected by The International Neuropsychological Society (INS) to receive the 2016 INS Mid-Career Award, also called Arthur Benton Award, for his work on…

MedChew Rx, by AXIM Biotechnology, the world’s first patented cannabinoid release chewing gum for pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS), is moving into clinical testing. If all goes well, the company plans for a global release date of 2017. Medical cannabis is believed to have considerable promise as a therapy for…

A new randomized and controlled trial is recruiting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to investigate the effect of a mindfulness-based telemedicine intervention program on patients and their caregivers. The clinical study’s protocol was recently published in the journal Trials, titled “A telemedicine meditation intervention for people with multiple sclerosis…

In a new study, researchers found that additives common to processed foods can damage the tight junctions that protect the intestinal mucosa, and which are essential to the intestinal tolerance and immunity balance that works to prevent autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The article, titled “Changes in…

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech have discontinued the use of higher doses of the drug laquinimod in two ongoing multiple sclerosis (MS) studies. The decision was based on a recommendation by the Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) that is supervising the clinical trials after cardiovascular events, none of which were fatal,…

A recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE described a new technique with the potential to spot brain changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) before the onset of symptoms. The technique, which measures brain dynamic activity and brain entropy, may lead to the development of diagnostic — and possibly prognostic —…

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), a national nonprofit organization and leading resource for the multiple sclerosis (MS) community, recently announced that Gina Ross Murdoch has been named the association’s new president and CEO. Ms. Murdoch is now the MSAA’s leader in areas comprising strategic progress, programmatic growth, and business development strategies.

Researchers found that a group of untreated patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) carry a specific group of hyperactivated immune cells, the inflammatory CD8+ T cells, suggesting a potential common mechanism contributing to disease pathogenesis. The study, “A Preliminary Comparative…

Gail Pickens-Barger is a doTERRA Elite Wellness Advocate who has been helping students to improve their fitness for 15 years. The yoga instructor is now also dedicated to serving the fitness goals of a particular population — patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a demyelinating disease in which the insulating layer (called myelin) that…

In a special feature published in the journal American Health & Drug Benefits, authors Stanton R. Mehr, President of SM Health Communications, and Marj P. Zimmerman, President of RxDirections, discuss the many unmet medical needs multiple sclerosis (MS) patients still face in dealing with the…

Results from a small pilot study indicated that high-dose vitamin D supplementation is safe and tolerable in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and that it can reduce the presence of autoimmunity-causing immune T cells. Patients are now being recruited for a larger clinical trial. The study, entitled “Safety and immunologic…

A new study investigated the influence of sleep disturbance, fatigue and disability on the quality of life (QOL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Health-related QOL measurements are important tools for assessing the impact of a disease on self-reported physical, mental, emotional, and social functioning. Most studies show that QOL is not related to…

Novoron Bioscience, Inc., a biotech company focused on developing therapies for disorders of the central nervous system, recently announced that it has received a $680,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to assess the potential of a new therapeutic approach to induce remyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is…

A new Canadian study, published in the International Journal of MS Care, has concluded that the majority of patients with concurrent multiple sclerosis (MS) and depression are receiving antidepressant treatment. Despite this, however, many of these patients continue to report depressive symptoms. MS and depression co-occurrence is…

Difficulties with cognitive function and fatigue are the main reasons patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) struggle to stay gainfully employed, a new study published in the December edition of the International Journal of MS Care has found. The study is titled “Factors Associated with Employment Status in Individuals with…

People caring for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients can have substantial physical and psychological health concerns, and their care can adversely impact their employment, according to research findings recently published in the International Journal of MS Care. The study is titled “Care Partners and Multiple Sclerosis,…

Multiple Sclerosis News Today has reported the latest therapies, clinical trial developments, and events in multiple sclerosis (MS) on a daily basis throughout the past year. As 2015 comes to an end, here are the year’s 10 articles most widely read by  Multiple Sclerosis News Today readers, each with a brief summary of the developments…

In a new study, researchers evaluated the effect of dalfampridine treatment in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and observed significant improvements in not only walking speed and distance, but also in gait and balance. The paper, titled “Dalfampridine Effects Beyond Walking Speed in Multiple Sclerosis,” was published in the…

GeNeuro, a company developing therapies for neurological and autoimmune disorders, recently announced the initiation of a Phase 2b clinical trial to assess its lead investigational antibody GNbAC1 in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The trial, called “CHANGE-MS,” plans to enroll 260 patients across 68 centers across the European Union and…

A research team recently showed that key enzymes of energy metabolism pathways are differentially expressed in active and inactive multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions, and may contribute to axonal degeneration in MS. The study, titled “Differential expression of glucose-metabolizing enzymes in multiple sclerosis lesions,” was published in the…

The upcoming 9th annual “Glial-neuronal Interactions in Health and Disease” symposium will bring together nearly 200 neuroscientists — focused on neuron and glial cell interaction and its affect on diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) — to discuss the latest findings in this area of brain research. The daylong symposium is to be held…

A team of researchers from the Netherlands have developed an interactive web-based program called MSmonitor that offers multiple sclerosis patients a way to manage and better integrate the multidisciplinary care they require. Pilot data from a study of its use is detailed in the article, “The interactive web-based program MSmonitor for…

Alkermes plc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, announced that it has successfully met its 2015 goals for their product and late-stage pipeline drug portfolio, including ALKS 8700, a monomethyl fumarate (MMF) drug candidate for the treatment of multiple sclerosis…

In a new study, researchers from the University of Toronto, Canada, uncovered the process behind the formation and maintenance of tertiary lymphoid tissues (TLTs), structures found in the meninges in the brains of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Their findings, reported in the article “Integration of Th17- and Lymphotoxin-Derived Signals Initiates…

Akaal Pharma, a developer of small molecule drugs for the treatment of inflammation and autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS), recently announced highly positive preclinical trial results on the safety and efficacy of its drug candidate AKP-11 when compared to Gilenya (fingolimod, FTY-720), an oral MS drug approved by…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced that a panel of experts led a comprehensive review of 142 published studies addressing rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis (MS), and found evidence suggesting that weekly in-home or outpatient physical therapy offers benefits — but, mostly, it found a lack of well-designed studies into…

Researchers are proposing for a first time that multiple sclerosis (MS) is triggered by the death of a specific cell population within the central nervous system called oligodendrocytes. The study, titled “Oligodendrocyte death results in immune-mediated CNS demyelination,” was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Oligodendrocytes,…

Addex Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule allosteric modulators for neurological disorders, recently announced the publication of positive results from studies evaluating the therapeutic effect of ADX88178, a metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 (mGluR4) modulator, in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. The research article, titled “Allosteric modulation…

Researchers in the United Kingdom recently discovered that a small molecule triggers the destruction of axons, a phenomenon observed in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). The study is titled “Wallerian Degeneration Is Executed by an NMN-SARM1-Dependent Late Ca2+ Influx but Only Modestly Influenced by Mitochondria” and appears in the journal…