News

MS Views and News (MSVN), a non-profit organization focused on collecting and distributing information about multiple sclerosis (MS), is hosting a series of educational patient programs and events during the month of May. The events have different themes, but are all focused on the management of MS, including medication, avoiding…

The 67th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting took place last week in Washington, DC and included eight investigators from the Tisch MS Research Center of New York, whose research efforts focus on finding a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). The researchers attended the meeting to share data and insights on…

Bayer HealthCare recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the filing of a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for BETACONNECT for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). BETACONNECT is a new drug delivery option for patients under Bayer’s BETASERON® (interferon beta-1b) therapy. MS is a…

A new study presented last week during the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC provides new treatment strategies for multiple sclerosis (MS) using a monoclonal antibody already used in some MS patients. MS is a disease characterized by the destruction of insulating covers on nerve cells…

Actelion Pharma recently announced that it will accelerate the launch of clinical trials involving its lead drug candidate ponesimod, an oral, selective sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P1). This decision came after a group of scientists working on different phases of clinical trials for the therapy observed mostly positive effects of ponesimod in terms of efficacy, efficiency…

A team led by researchers at the New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center recently assessed what happens when clinically stable patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) stop taking their medication and found that almost 40% of them experience to some extent a return in disease activity and related symptoms. The…

MedDay, a French biotechnology company that studies treatments for nervous system disorders, including multiple sclerosis, announced that MD1003, a highly-concentrated biotin, is effective for treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis, according to results from a recent Phase III trial. MD1003 may have two beneficial effects: 1) increasing myelin, the fatty nerve-insulating…

San Diego based medical software developer CorTechs Labs announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with multinational pharmaceutical maker Novartis Pharma AG. The two companies will collaborate in further development of Cortechs’ powerful NeuroQuant breakthrough 510(k) cleared software brain volume quantification device that targets identification, measurement and tracking…

The non-profit organization MS Views and News (MSVN) has invited two health care experts on multiple sclerosis (MS) to join their new medical advisory board. Brian Steingo, MD and Patricia Pagnotta, MSN, ARNP-C will co-chair the new board to assist the organization with its mission of offering the…

Biogen has recently announced novel results to support the effectiveness of TECFIDERA (dimethyl fumarate) in the treatment of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The results revealed that TECFIDERA significantly reduced disability progression and relapses in RRMS patients who received their diagnosis for the first time and had a highly active form of the disease. TECFIDERA…

Two already available medications could be used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). In a new study titled, “Drug Based Modulation of Endogenous Stem Cells,” published in the journal Nature on April 20, 2015, scientists report that two drugs could activate stem cells in the brain, possibly repairing MS-induced damage to…

Throughout the years, Dr. Sarah Thomas and Dr. Peter Thomas at Bournemouth University have been developing a program to aid multiple sclerosis patients affected by fatigue. Their program, developed at the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit in collaboration with colleagues at Dorset Multiple Sclerosis Service at Poole Hospital, is a…

A new study to be presented during the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting, April 24, in Washington, DC, explores the use of phenytoin, a drug commonly used to treat epilepsy, as a novel treatment for acute optic neuritis, a severe eye complication of multiple sclerosis (MS) that affects approximately half…

As the most common non-traumatic cause of disability in young people in the industrialized world, multiple sclerosis affects more than 2.5 million people globally. Those who suffer with the disease are categorized into two types of multiple sclerosis patients: those with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) make up the majority of patients…

Cambridge, Massachusetts based PatientsLikeMe has released results of a novel study conducted in conjunction with pharmaceutical maker Biogen that demonstrated how people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) can employ wearable activity tracking devices to monitor, collect, and share their personal mobility data. That information can potentially be relevant for…

Considering the range of neurological symptoms normally associated with adult multiple sclerosis (including loss of coordination, weakness, fatigue, and trouble thinking), symptoms of pediatric multiple sclerosis are often nonspecific and affect the intestinal system. Intestinal mobility and sensation, vomiting, and long transit time for digestion (dysphagia) are symptoms that also…

Dr. Jose Álvarez-Cermeño and Dr. Luisa Villar from Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria in Madrid, Spain recently published in the journal Nature Reviews Neurology a review on the work developed by Dr. An Goris and colleagues on the link between genetic factors and multiple sclerosis…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first generic version of Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The administration has granted Sandoz marketing authorization for glatiramer acetate in 20 mg/1 ml…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) commonly experience a low pain threshold and sensitivity to heat and cold. If a person has multiple sclerosis along with fibromyalgia (FM), that could make this sensitivity even more intense. Until now, no group has studied this phenomenon. In a study titled “…

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) recently announced the results of a new study that evaluated an experimental drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) with the potential to repair damaged myelin layers, a fatty material that covers and protects neurons. These findings will be presented at the 67th AAN Annual Meeting,…

A team led by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada recently published results in the European Journal of Neurology showing that treatment with beta-interferon has no effect on secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) disease onset. The study is entitled “Beta-interferon exposure and…

A new commentary concerning genetic variability in multiple sclerosis patients highlights a new marker of disease severity. Local IgG (antibody) synthesis is found in over 90% of multiple sclerosis patients, and there is a genetic basis for this hallmark of disease. “A new genome-wide association…

A team of Kessler Foundation researchers recently published their findings on the MEMREHAB trial, whereby treatment with the modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT) may be affected by cognitive dysfunction. The study entitled “The influence of cognitive dysfunction on benefit from learning and memory rehabilitation in MS:…

Novartis will present novel Gilenya data, demonstrating the company’s methods for assessing the impact of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in both patients and physicians, during the 67th Annual Meeting of American Academy of Neurology (AAN) that will take place in Washington, DC between the 18th and the 25th of April, 2015. The data will…

Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc. (Amarantus) is a San Francisco based, development-stage, publicly-traded biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing first-in-class treatments and diagnostics in neurology for diseases associated with the dysfunction of a wide range of biological pathways, including protein misfolding, cell cycle dysregulation, neurodegeneration and apoptosis (Programmed Cell…

Biogen plans to present new clinical data at the 67th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., April 18 – 25, 2015, including numerous presentations focusing on multiple sclerosis.  In a company press release, Biogen stated “At AAN, we will feature new scientific data, including research highlighting the…

MedDay recently announced in a news release that it is preparing to release the design and results of its clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of MD1003 in primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. Data on the Phase III clinical trial (MS-SPI) will be presented…

A stem cell therapy being administered to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) outside the United States was recently touted by an MS patient who traveled to Mexico to receive the therapy, revealing significant improvements in her quality of life. Debbie Bertrand, an MS patient who was diagnosed in 2001, is sharing her…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has announced it will grant $28 million to 84 new research projects and training awards focused on multiple sclerosis (MS). The new financial support is included in the society’s comprehensive research strategy, which was designed to not only end MS, but also restore patients’…

A recent study suggests that in the future multiple sclerosis patients could benefit from treatments intended to boost their brain function. The study was published in Nature Neuroscience and received funding from The Wellcome Trust, the Lister Research Prize and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. According to researchers, patients…