News

MedDay, a biotechnology company that develops new drugs for nervous system disorders, announced an update on the progress of its development pipeline with its lead product MD1003 for the treatment of primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The first study is expected to be complete in early 2015, while…

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. released the first results from its phase 1b trial that for the evaluation of an oral drug candidate called APD334 for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The multiple ascending dose clinical trial demonstrated encouraging findings about the drug, which is designed to target the sphingosine…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients often experience difficulty with balance and fear falling, which may prevent them from being social or participating in exercise and community activities, affecting their quality of life. However, a pioneering study conducted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is looking to understand the role of…

The Scottish Medicines Consortium has just approved Biogen Idec’s Plegridy (peg interferon beta-1a) for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) in patients between 18 to 65 years old, making the Consortium the first United Kingdom-based regulatory body to endorse the disease-modifying drug on the…

Irish poet, playwright,wit, design critic, and controversialist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was one of the giants of the literary scene in the late Nineteenth Century — not only in the U.K. where he lived and worked most of his life, but on the continent and in North America, which he visited twice. An international…

Biogen Idec, a Cambridge Massachusetts Biotechnology company, has released results from its Phase 2 acute optic neuritis (AON) RENEW trial. The trial tested anti-LINGO-1, a medication that restores myelin — a fatty substance that facilitates nerve cell impulses by wrapping around them and providing insulation. The trial results indicate that anti-LINGO-1…

California-based, late-preclinical stage pharmaceutical company, Bionure, Inc,. has just announced it has signed a Sponsored Research Agreement with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, thanks to Fast Forward, a division of the Society dedicated to commercial research and development for novel solutions for multiple sclerosis (MS). According…

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) announced late last month its New Drug Application (NDA) to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the multiple sclerosis relapse prevention drug glatiramer acetate (active ingredient) — which is sold in some markets under the trade name Copaxone. Developed by Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries…

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination can help protect against several health problems, including cervical cancers in women. Some reports have raised concerns however, that the vaccine might actually increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. A study entitled “Quadrivalent HPV Vaccination and Risk of Multiple Sclerosis and Other…

Canada has one of the world’s highest Multiple Sclerosis (MS) prevalence rates. Some 100,000 Canadians live with the disease, and three people are newly diagnosed each day. Most people are diagnosed with relapsing MS in their twenties and thirties, and MS is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults…

Results from a Phase 3 clinical trial entitled “AVANCE” revealed promising clinical outcomes in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated for one year with peg interferon beta-1a. The analysis was published in the journal BMC Neurology, in a study entitled “Effect of peg interferon beta-1a on MRI measures and…

Immunosupressive therapy in combination with hemotopoietic cell transplant was found to induce remission of Multiple Sclerosis activity for up to 3 years. The new findings could usher in a new mode of effective treatment for MS that could greatly improve quality of life for those with the disease and…

A new study published online before print in the journal JAMA Neurology reports that three years on, most members of a small subject group of patients with active relapsing-remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) who had received an experimental high-dose immunosuppressive therapy (HDIT) followed by a transplant of their own…

Given the fact that MS is a chronic, progressive, and disabling disease for which there is no cure, the multiple sclerosis community is always looking forward to the latest news regarding new therapies, devices or scientific findings about treating and curing the disease. These are the top 14 news stories of 2014 from…

A team of researchers from Italy recently examined if p53 genetic variants influence synaptic and toxic effects of cytokines in the neurodegenerative processes that occurs in Multiple Sclerosis. The study, entitled “Interleukin-1β causes excitotoxic neurodegeneration and multiple sclerosis disease progression by activating the apoptotic protein p53,” was recently published…

Biopharmaceutical company Receptos, Inc. is enrolling the first patient in their SUNBEAM phase 3 trial to evaluate the company’s investigational therapy for the treatment of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) and ulcerative colitis (UC), called RPC1063. In addition, Receptos has recently started its phase 3 …

British Columbia’s PharmaCare drug program has announced that it will fund AUBAGIO, a therapy developed by Genzyme for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. AUBAGIO (teriflunomide) 14 mg has been officially added to PharmaCare’s provincial formulary as a first-line oral agent for patients suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). As…

A study published on December 22 in JAMA Neurology emphasizes that a standard measurement used to gauge multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, known as “no-evidence-of-disease-activity” (NEDA) is important for determining how the disease will progress long-term. MS is the most common degenerative neurological condition that affects young adults worldwide.

Researchers in Spain have found that specific fat stem cells from mice could be excellent tools for studying transplantation of stem cells in autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The work was published in the December 12th issue of the journal, Stem Cell Research & Therapy. The…

Icometrix, a biotechnology company focused on unique projects for diagnosing and treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, has designed new software for the measurement of brain lesions and brain volumes and their changes over time. MS, a chronic and neurological condition that affects about 2.5 million people throughout the world, is often first detected in patients at…

Mapi Pharma Ltd., a development stage pharmaceutical company specializing in the development of high-barrier to entry and high-added value generic drugs, announced it has treated the first patient in the Phase IIa study of GA Depot for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Lead investigator Professor Ariel Miller, M.D., Ph.D., Head of the Multiple Sclerosis & Brain…

A new study on the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies to treat neuroinflammatory and demyelinating disease entitled “SEMA4D compromises blood–brain barrier, activates microglia, and inhibits remyelination in neurodegenerative disease” was published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease by Ernest S. Smith part of…

Have you ever eaten a turkey dinner and afterwards someone says that the feeling of drowsiness is caused by the tryptophan in the meat? According to Texas A&M University Professor Dr. Nicolaas Deutz, “This story about tryptophan in turkey is just kind of a running joke, it has nothing…

Scientists from Amsterdam-based Motek Medical developed an innovative virtual reality system that allows clinicians to see and analyze a patient’s balance, locomotion, and coordination – a tool that could reshape rehabilitation and clinical studies, as the system allows the patient to experience challenging and dynamically changing physical…

A new Multiple Sclerosis pilot study was awarded a $39,000 grant by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to investigate how patients’ sensation in their feet while standing impacts balance and whether their ability to walk is improved through the use of vibrating insoles. Multiple Sclerosis is characterized by the destruction of the…

In a new study, researchers based at the Imperial College, London will follow in unprecedented detail the events and experiences in lives of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in order to improve evaluation protocols for MS treatments. MS is estimated to afflict more than two million people globally, more…

A team of researchers from Ohio State University received a $44,000 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to fund the development and testing of an interactive video game designed to promote and supplement physical therapy among patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), an…

Researchers have uncovered new information about myelin, a fatty substance that wraps around the axons of brain cells (neurons) allowing them to transmit information quickly from one cell to another. De-myelinating diseases in which the insulating wrap is damaged include multiple sclerosis, in which unpredictable loss of myelin causes…

Dr. Nataliya Ternopolska Pennsylvania-based Abington Health  has announced that it has named Nataliya Ternopolska, M.D. as the new associate medical director of their Multiple Sclerosis Center. Ternopolska will not only take over the leadership position, but will also join The Neurology Group at the facility. Abington Health is an organization…

2014 was a year of major progress in research for treating and curing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This year the National Multiple Sclerosis Society reports that the organization invested over $50 million into 380 new and ongoing research initiatives and projects for MS. The Society remains highly…