News

One of the world’s most commonly used medications — the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin — 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…

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 relapses — and minimizing serious side effects — clearly score high, according to new research from the University of British Columbia in Canada. The study, “Quantitative…

Detecting brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients requires high quality scans, too 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 tool and its benefits were recently described…

Biogen and AbbVie announced that the drug Zinbryta (daclizumab) has received marketing authorization by the European Commission, and is an approved treatment across most of Europe for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Zinbryta is a self-administered, once monthly subcutaneous injection. “Clinical data showed Zinbryta significantly reduced relapses, 24-week…

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 is a viable alternative to plasmapheresis (PMP) and intravenous immunoglobin (IVIG). Annual direct healthcare costs encountered by MS patients in the U.S.

The Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) released the early draft of a paper intended to inform a future report evaluating the effectiveness and value of disease-modifying therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The paper, called a draft scoping document, is titled “Disease Modifying Therapies for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Effectiveness and…

Caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are often burdened by fatigue and depression, even anger, all of which can unwittingly reduce the quality of care given — although they remain quite empathetic, according to a study. The research team at the University of Manitoba in Canada suggested that tending to the needs of people caring for…

Disabling tremors can affect as many as half of all people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but they are inadequately treated because of limited therapeutic options and are not sufficiently being studied, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported. Their report, “Symptomatic Management of Multiple Sclerosis-Associated Tremor Among…

Since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013, Tecfidera (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…

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…

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…

Researchers working with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 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 “phase images,” as they are known, are usually discarded and their insights lost. Now, the work of researchers…

Obese children and young adults appear to 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 Bristol in the U.K., who found a causal relationship between the two. Their study, “…

Coherus BioSciences recently reported that its 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…

A therapeutic vaccine for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), called Xemys, is showing positive results in pre-clinical and clinical trials, and is soon to enter Phase 3 clinical testing. Xemys was developed by researchers at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences and their colleagues. While traditional vaccines are…

High blood pressure may be linked to greater overall disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), although the rate at which disability progresses might be slower than in patients without hypertension, a retrospective study concludes. The research, involving a large number of MS patients, helps to clarify a rather confusing range of views on how…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is giving priority review to a request to approve Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a treatment for both forms of multiple sclerosis, the drug’s developer, Genentech, announced. If the company’s Biologics License Application (BLA) is approved, Ocrevus will become the first drug able to treat patients with either relapsing or…

The president of Colorado State University (CSU), Tony Frank, will be accepting the Norman Cohn Hope Award on behalf of his university, recognizing its work in advancing research into multiple sclerosis and helping people with the disease. The ceremony will take place at the Annual MS Society Dinner of Champions, set for Sept.

The complement system, a part of our non-adaptable (innate) immune defenses, is activated in lesions inside the brain’s gray matter and may well contribute to the relentless progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers report. The findings offer new insights into mechanisms driving the development of this disease — particularly its primary progressive forms.

Editor’s Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today welcomes Laura Kolaczkowski to our team of Patient Specialists and MS bloggers. As you will read in her introductory post below, Laura brings to her new column a wealth of Multiple Sclerosis related insights, both as a patient and activist/advocate for raising awareness and research…

Fingolimod (Gilenya), a drug approved for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to prevent neuroinflammation, may also help these patients by directly enhancing nerve regeneration and increasing myelination in a way that is partly independent of its anti-inflammatory properties. The study reporting this finding, “Fingolimod promotes peripheral nerve regeneration…

A retrospective study of vitamin D status and disability progression in multiple sclerosis patients — using real-life, clinical data from a large and varied group — found no  correlation between the two, although vitamin D levels may predict the occurrence of relapses in some patients. But these findings may have been limited by the lower doses of daily vitamin…

Helius Medical Technologies announced results of a pilot study, demonstrating the benefits of PoNS Therapy — a combination of the investigational Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) device with physical therapy — in patients with advanced multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, the treatment was seen to improve both patients’ quality of life, and physical and…

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have higher levels of a micro-RNA called miR-150 in their cerebrospinal fluid, a liquid surrounding and protecting the brain and spinal cord. The study, validating the finding in some 600 people, suggests that miR-150 might be a marker for MS, distinguishing the disease from other neurological conditions.

In the largest genetic study ever performed in a single country, scientists in Germany discovered four new risk genes for multiple sclerosis (MS). The genes, altered in MS patients, are involved in the control of how other genes are activated through mechanisms known as epigenetics. The discovery advances understanding of how…

An upcoming conference will explore new and emerging treatment options for multiple sclerosis (MS), focusing on the intersection between laboratory findings and clinical care, and the search for discoveries that may lead to important innovations in treating this neurological disease. The daylong conference, open to academics, clinical researchers and industry leaders, is hosted by…

Fatigue, the most commonly reported symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), is associated with disease comorbidities such as depression, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, and anxiety, according to the study “Fatigue and Comorbidities in Multiple Sclerosis,” recently published in the International Journal of MS Care.

As we age, the risk that small blood vessels will start leaking into brain tissue increases, raising our risk of dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease. New research reveals that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) also have these so-called cerebral microbleeds, and links them to increased physical and cognitive disability. When Robert Zivadinov, a professor of…

GeneFo, a social-medical community that connects patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and offers free in-house medical consulting, recently announced a partnership with MitoQ, a New Zealand-based company focused on mitochondrial health. MitoQ is a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant supplement that may help to alleviate common symptoms in MS. MS, a chronic disease of the central…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced that it has received the largest gift ever given the organization by an individual — a $3 million, multiyear donation to establish and fund the Edward M. Dowd Personal Advocate Program, which aims to improve and expand personalized case management and care for people with…