News

Helius Medical Technologies, Inc., a company dedicated to neurological wellness, recently announced that the multiple sclerosis (MS) pilot study assessing the company’s investigational Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS™) device has met all of the study’s goals. PoNS is a non-invasive device that allows the delivery of neurostimulation through the…

A collective team of physician-researchers comprising Dr. Peter Calabresi from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Dr. Laura Balcer from NYU Langone Medical Center, and Dr. Elliot Frohman from University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine are the winners of the 2015 Barancik Prize for Innovation…

PathMaker Neurosystems Inc., a clinical-stage neuromodulation company focused on non-invasive therapies for neuromotor disorders, recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company’s MyoRegulator™ PM-2200 system the Expedited Access Pathway (EAP) designation and priority processing status. The MyoRegulator is the first product of PathMaker…

New research at the University of Adelaide, Australia, may help pave the way toward the potential inhibition of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. The study entitled “CCR2 defines in vivo development and homing of IL-23-driven GM-CSF-producing Th17 cells” was published in the journal …

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…

Results from a recent study published in the journal Rehabilitation Research and Practice showed the positive effects of community exercise programs in multiple sclerosis (MS) 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…

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…

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 “a subjective lack…

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 “EpiCast Report: Multiple Sclerosis – Epidemiology…

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 claiming that prescribers should have the right to make clinical decisions on the best treatments and medications in each individual MS case.

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 sclerosis (RRMS) and patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) to underscore the importance…

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 to a specific line of possible new therapies. The study is entitled “Proinflammatory GM-CSF–producing B cells in multiple sclerosis and B cell…

A new study from Sweden indicates that vitamin D could help protect nerve cells (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…

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) — held in Barcelona October 7–10, 2015 — supporting the efficacy of its Sativex product, currently the only pharmaceutical medicine derived from cannabinoids…

Results from a recent study published in the journal Immunity indicate that 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…

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.

Advancing key medicinal treatments like TECFIDERA (dimethyl fumarate), the most prescribed oral treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), is a key focus of a company-wide restructuring recently announced by Biogen, Inc. TECFIDERA has been shown to reduce relapse rates, slow disability progression and the number of brain lesions in patients with relapsing forms…

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 17–21).

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…

In a recent study entitled “Equivalent Gene Expression Profiles between Glatopa™ and Copaxone®,” authors determined potential differences in treatment responses by investigating the gene expression profile of two approved treatments for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis – Copaxone and Glatopa. Both of these MS therapies are glatiramer…

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 “…

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…

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 COPAXONE®(glatiramer acetate injection) 40 mg/mL, a new dose of COPAXONE®,…

The Glatiramer Acetate Clinical Trial to Assess Equivalence With Copaxone  (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…

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 “Dual Targeting of the Chemokine Receptors CXCR4 and ACKR3 with Novel…

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 Rebif® (interferon beta-1a), a high-dose, high-frequency interferon beta for the treatment of…

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 company’s product candidate ADS-5102 can be potentially applied as a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. MS is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative autoimmune…

Among the different therapeutic approaches being explored for treating MS, adult stem cell therapy continues to be one of the most discussed and anticipated in the MS community. “Stem cells” — the common term for undifferentiated, self-renewing proliferating cells — are currently being investigated for their ability to treat patients in a wide range of disease…

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 “Blood coagulation protein fibrinogen promotes…

A recent study of people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) found that 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). The article, titled “Vitamin D supplementation and systemic inflammation in…