News

The United Spinal Association, a nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life of people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), a group of conditions that include multiple sclerosis (MS), is collaborating with MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and Children’s National Medical Center to study the potential benefits of the bacteria…

Multiple sclerosis was a main focus at the four-day 10th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy), in Lisbon, Portugal, that concluded on March 20. Among the topics of debate was demyelination as the disease’s main pathogenic precursor and the clinical potential of remyelination. The debate, titled “Can we expect long-term…

Clinical trials have shown that ocrelizumab — an antibody targeting B-cells — is effective in multiple sclerosis (MS). As a result, some researchers and clinicians claim that B-cell depletion is a sufficient therapy in MS, and that drugs targeting other immune cells are obsolete. Not everyone agrees. A debate at…

A major dilemma facing clinicians is whether to continue treatment with disease-modifying drugs, effective in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), as the disease progresses to secondary progressive MS (SPMS). In SPMS,  these treatments seem to lose their benefits and — as they are often associated with severe side effects and high costs — clinicians…

Sanofi Genzyme, one of the companies participating in the four-day 10th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) in Lisbon, Portugal, that concluded on March 20, 2016, supported several symposiums focused on multiple sclerosis (MS) — including one on B-cell and T-cell therapies. For over a decade, Sanofi Genzyme has worked to develop effective therapies…

Certain therapies used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) have been associated with opportunistic infections of the central nervous system, including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare but often fatal brain disorder caused by the John Cunningham (JC) virus. The question of whether the risk for opportunistic infections to MS patients outweighs…

Vitamin D is crucial for our general health and it is known that it modulates immune responses. While large studies have shown that supplemental vitamin D lowers the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), not everyone is convinced. In a debate at the 10th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) March…

The precision of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurement has improved over the years, and now scans can identify brain damage before symptoms begin showing. Whether the presence of new or expanding lesions predict disease progression is, however, still controversial, and clinicians have no guidance when making treatment decisions about the…

Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine released preliminary results of an ongoing study into an effective and progressive resistance training program to improve hip strength and walking ability, areas of concern in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). The program, consisting of exercises using resistant…

Blood biomarkers in individual multiple sclerosis patients may help clinicians determine which treatments would be of most benefit to that person, according to researchers at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF). The study, published in the journal Neurology, Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, is titled “Cytokine profiles show heterogeneity of interferon-β response in multiple sclerosis patients.”…

Professor Steve Wilton and Dr. Rakesh Veedu from Murdoch University’s Centre for Comparative Genomics in Western Australia received project grants of $50,000 and $25,000, respectively, to investigate and develop new methods for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The grants are part of $1.834 million in research funding given by MS…

Interventions to improve balance in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have produced varying results, but a small clinical trial showed that balance training using a virtual reality tool could help people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and might improve adherence to training. Virtual reality tools are a popular training approach, not least because compliance to…

Dr. Hannah Gullo, a University of Queensland (UQ) School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences researcher, is several steps closer to achieving her goal of using smartwatches to combat the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS), thanks to an $8,000 Ian Ballard Travel Award for 2016 that will fund her flying from…

Microglial cells in the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory processing, may contribute to brain damage associated with cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS). The finding, published in the journal Scientific Reports, implies that targeting microglia could be a promising strategy to improve cognition in MS. While cognitive…

A large-scale online survey, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society  and developed by researchers, is investigating how multiple sclerosis (MS) patients perceive and evaluate the risks and benefits of available therapies. Investigators encourage MS patients to participate in the survey, titled “Multiple Sclerosis Risk Tolerance,” which can be…

People newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) tend to also suffer from other chronic health problems, particularly depression, according to a Canadian study, that also emphasizes the importance of investigating whether the safety of MS treatments differs for these patients. “These findings are interesting for several reasons,” the study’s author,…

The 10th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) will be held this week — March 17-20 — in Lisbon, Portugal, and Multiple Sclerosis News Today will be there to cover and report on the proceedings. CONy 2016 co-chairs Prof. Amos Korczyn and Prof. Victor Oliveira noted that in…

AB Science recently reported the publication of four peer-reviewed and independent research papers that add to the growing recognition of masitinib, the company’s lead compound, as a promising treatment for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, including progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)…

The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), a pre-eminent organization of multiple sclerosis (MS) healthcare providers, will hold its 30th Annual Meeting on June 1–4, 2016, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The CMSC Annual Meeting is the most comprehensive multidisciplinary MS conference…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society launched a new awareness campaign for Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week, which runs through March 13, featuring the stories of people impacted by MS and a website with tips for overcoming daily disease challenges. The campaign, “Together We Are Stronger,” also recognizes the progress made in MS research…

A new assessment by a European regulatory agency failed to find fingolimod of added benefit to comparator therapies for people with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have failed to respond to treatment with at least one other disease-modifying drug. Fingolimod (Gilenya), developed as a therapy for multiple sclerosis, has undergone three early benefit assessments since its…

Video games targeting cognitive abilities may improve brain function in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study found. Results, published in the journal Radiology, showed that these games strengthen connections between neurons in the thalamus, a brain region crucial for information processing. The findings also add to…

Andrea Perry Kaiser is a woman on a mission. The Long Beach, New York, resident is soon to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for her multiple sclerosis (MS). Kaiser contacted Multiple Sclerosis News Today to chronicle her journey, both before and following the treatment. She received a primary progressive multiple sclerosis…

To celebrate the many family, friends, healthcare professionals, and advocacy communities offering vital support to people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) day after day, MSWorld and Biogen have created the #MySupportHero program. The social media campaign runs through March, MS Awareness Month, to allow people with MS to thank all those who encourage and…

Researchers found that nerve cell connections in the brain, called synapses, were damaged in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) through a process wholly unrelated to myelin destruction. As the damaged mice synapses studied were in regions crucial for memory processing, finding ways of protecting these neurons would be a crucial step toward developing a…

Children whose mothers were vitamin D deficient during the early stages of pregnancy are at an elevated risk for developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in adulthood, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Neurology, titled “Vitamin D Status During Pregnancy and Risk of Multiple…

Silvana L. Costa, PhD from the Kessler Foundation, was recently awarded a Switzer Research Fellowship by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). Dr. Costa is a Hearst Fellow in Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research at Kessler, where she investigates cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS). The Merit Fellowship,…

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that a small clinical trial of a progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment was stopped early due to poor results. The trial was evaluating the drug rituximab for its efficacy in depleting harmful immune cells and decreasing nerve damage in these MS…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who also suffer from other autoimmune conditions, like thyroid disease or diabetes, have more severe brain damage than MS patients without comorbidities, according to a study from the University at Buffalo. The study was recently published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology. An earlier report from…

Two scientists at Northwestern University, Anne Marie Piper and Brenna Argall, recently received the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The work of Dr. Argall, in particular, might be relevant for people with disabilities caused by diseases such as multiple sclerosis or brain trauma resulting from accidents…