News

Sexual dysfunction affects 80% of women in Iran with multiple sclerosis (MS), with older age and lower education levels seen as key risk factors, a study found. The study, ”The prevalence of sexual dysfunction and its contributors among the women with multiple sclerosis,” was published in BMC Women’s…

A researcher and neurologist at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia has won the 2025 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research for his work in uncovering immune mechanisms of multiple sclerosis (MS), identifying disease biomarkers, and finding new avenues toward tailored medicine. The prize comes with a sculpture and…

A high dose cholecalciferol, a form of vitamin D, significantly reduced the risk of further disease activity in people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), published findings from a Phase 3 trial show. Vitamin D was similarly effective for reducing disease activity among a subgroup of participants who would…

A multicenter Phase 2a clinical trial testing Tiziana Life Sciences’  foralumab nasal spray in people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) has dosed the first patients enrolled at Yale MS Center. The Phase 2a study (NCT06292923) is assessing the treatment’s safety and efficacy against a placebo in…

Fampridine, which is approved to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and the disease-modifying therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) seem to have the greatest benefits on MS walking abilities, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of treatment options. The data align with previous findings for fampridine, which…

“Caregiving,” a two-hour documentary film centered on the daily experiences of six family and professional caregivers in the U.S. will premiere on PBS and its media outlets in June. Executive produced by Bradley Cooper, the documentary is inspired by his own experience caring for his father, who was diagnosed…

Note: This story was updated April 4, 2025, to clarify the specific disability measures and that tolebrutinib is believed to target smoldering neuroinflammation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review to an application from Sanofi seeking the approval of its BTK inhibitor…

Nearly 50% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) report pronounced fatigue, which has a significantly negative effect on their well-being, a new study from Finland has found. In an analysis of data from more than 500 patients from the Finnish MS registry, individuals with self-perceived fatigue were more likely…

For every 1,000 employees in the U.S., about $580,000 is spent each year in excess healthcare costs and lost work time from five autoimmune diseases alone, including multiple sclerosis (MS), a report from healthcare startup Welltheory shows. This represents about 5% of the typical annual healthcare spending for a…

More Stamina, a gamified mobile app, helped a small group of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) better manage their fatigue by becoming more aware of their energy levels and planning their activities more effectively, according to a study from Finland. “Fatigue is an invisible but life-altering symptom…

Treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) may help delay disability progression in people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) over Rebif (interferon beta-1a), an analysis of data from two clinical trials suggests. While the trials initially failed to demonstrate slowing disease progression, a significant benefit was observed when accounting…

Sacral neuromodulation (SNM), in which an implanted device delivers mild electrical pulses to the nerves that control the bladder, led to sustained improvements in urinary function in half of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who underwent surgery to have the device put into place, according to a review of…

Starting Tysabri (natalizumab) early in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment may lead to better outcomes, including greater reductions in relapse rates and less use of MS-related healthcare services over starting it after other therapies. That’s according to a U.S. healthcare claims analysis of more than 1,500 adults with MS.

Evidence of neurological damage over time — known as dissemination in time, or DIT — may not be necessary to reach a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) for all patients, according to a report by U.K. researchers. Traditionally, an MS diagnosis would typically require both DIT and DIS,…

Cognitive impairment is common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have not previously received treatment, affecting about 1 in 4 patients, and rates are particularly higher in those with secondary progressive MS (SPMS), a new study found. “The current study demonstrates that a significant portion of MS…

Myrobalan Therapeutics has been awarded a grant of more than $850,000 from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to advance its new oral candidate MRO-002 for treating progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The funding was made through the society’s Fast Forward program, which seeks to bridge the…

Artificial intelligence (AI) platforms did better than most neurologists at answering a 20-question assessment about multiple sclerosis (MS) in a recent study, suggesting that AI may be a helpful tool for MS care. Neurologists with an MS specialty scored as well, on average, as the AI platforms, while neurology…

The law firm Kalfus & Nachman will host a special event to raise funds for multiple sclerosis (MS) research, patient care, advocacy, and increasing disease awareness. The fundraising will be held Friday, March 28, at 1:00 p.m., in the back parking lot of Kalfus & Nachman’s building, 870…

Antibodies that target proteins from the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) also can inadvertently attack proteins in the brain, which may help to explain the link between EBV and multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. Findings also indicate that antibodies targeting EBV as well as a person’s genetics both…

A group of manufactured chemicals called hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls, or OH-PCBs, which persist in the environment despite a ban on production, are associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. In turn, another family of compounds highly resistant to environmental breakdown, called…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who receive anti-CD20 therapies such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) are significantly less likely to discontinue their treatment compared with patients who are given other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a Swiss study has found. Staying on treatment may be related to the effectiveness of B-cell-depleting…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a prefilled syringe format for Ani Pharmaceuticals’ purified Cortrophin Gel that’s expected to reduce the number of steps needed for administering the therapy — used in multiple sclerosis (MS) to treat relapses. The approval means that people with conditions…

In the lymph nodes of the neck of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), certain immune cells show abnormalities in activity and signs of reactions against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a new study reports. The findings may help to explain the connection between MS and EBV, researchers said. The study,…

Neurons, also called nerve cells, collected from brain lesions of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) were found to accumulate new genetic mutations at a significantly faster rate than healthy neurons did, according to a new report. The researchers also found that neurons in such lesions exhibited distinct mutation…

Black people with multiple sclerosis (MS) walk more slowly and cover shorter distances over a certain time period than white people with the disease, a study in the U.S. finds. While the differences were somewhat attenuated when other factors that may impact walking ability were considered, such as age,…

In people with multiple sclerosis (MS), lesions that get slowly bigger over time, potentially due to chronic inflammation, are associated with more myelin loss throughout the brain, a study found. Loss of myelin was observed in these slowly expanding lesions, in other types of lesions, and also in regions…

Disability progression independent of relapse activity, or PIRA, in the earliest stages of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is associated with worsening quality of life, a study in Sweden shows. PIRA is a form of sustained disability worsening that occurs in the absence of multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses. While…

Using a simple algorithm to recommend highly effective disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can help make treatment fairer for all patients, and level inequalities otherwise defined by race or ethnicity, a new study by U.S. researchers suggests. Indeed, use of the algorithm over a…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who switch from a high- to a moderate-efficacy disease-modifying therapy (DMT) increase their risk of disease activity, especially younger adults and those having inflammatory disease activity before a switch, a study finds. Knowing these factors “can help guide future studies on deescalation,” researchers…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who eat more fish are significantly less likely to see confirmed disability progression and the greater the intake, the lower the progression risk, a study in Sweden finds. The dietary habits of patients were assessed at the time of their diagnosis and disability progression…