July 20, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Phase 1 trial of bryostatin-1 in MS expected by year’s end Synaptogenix is teaming up with Cleveland Clinic for a Phase 1 clinical trial involving people with multiple sclerosis (MS) that will test the company’s lead candidate, bryostatin-1 ā a therapy designed to prevent cognitive deficits in MS patients. āWe are moving forward with our clinical development plans for…
July 19, 2023 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Adhering to treatment is linked to better long-term outcomes People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who take their prescribed disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as recommended have better long-term health outcomes and lower healthcare costs than those who donāt, a U.S. study finds. Adhering to treatment can help reduce relapses, slow disease progression, and reduce the economic burden on both…
July 19, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Can elderly MS patients safely stop treatment? Study aims to find out. A first-of-its-kind study is aiming to determine whether older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) can safely stop taking disease-modifying therapies, also known as disease-modifying agents (DMAs). The project is being led by scientists at the new P-HOPER Center, officially the Population Health Outcomes and Pharmacoepidemiology Education and Research…
July 19, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Spinal cord lesions tied to higher risk of clinical relapse in MS: Study The presence of spinal cord lesions ā alone or with brain lesions ā on MRI scans was associated with a higher risk of clinical relapse for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients over those with just brain lesions, according to a recent study. Spinal and brain lesions together were also predictive…
July 18, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS With Korro Bio merger in works, Frequency stops program for MS With a planned merger in the works, Frequency Therapeutics is no longer advancing its remyelination therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), and instead is exploring “strategic alternatives for the program,” the company has announced. The regenerative medicine company, which had aimed to develop a new approach to treating MS…
July 18, 2023 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD RRMS patients with high chloride levels may be at more relapse risk Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with elevated levels of chloride in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, may be at a higher risk of relapse, according to a study from China. Researchers propose that CSF chloride levels equal to or higher than 123.2…
July 17, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Use of oral DMTs grew substantially since their launch: US study Since their launch in the 2010s, the use of oral disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) has increased substantially, while injectable DMTs have become less popular, according to a study based on U.S. commercial health insurance data. āWhile two injectable therapies known as platform injectables, were once the…
July 17, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD MS raises person’s risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s, study suggests People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are at a greater risk than the general public of developing any type of dementia, with that of Alzheimer’s disease being more than twice as high and vascular dementia nearly four times as high, a study from Korea suggested. This risk also was higher…
July 14, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Ancestrally-diverse study of genetics in MS recruiting in the UK People with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in the U.K. who identified as South Asian reported their first symptoms at a significantly younger age than self-reported white and Black individuals, according to preliminary data from the ADAMS project. ADAMS, which stands for the genetic Association study of individuals from…
July 14, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Positive results found for new under-the-skin Ocrevus formulation A new formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), given as a 10-minute under-the-skin injection, was comparable to the approved intravenous version of the therapy in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to top-line results from a Phase 3 clinical trial. The medication’s developer, Roche, is planning to submit data from…
July 13, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Inflammation in brain membranes may act as trigger in MS: Study Inflammation in the membranes around the brain may trigger an inflammatory response that can spread into nearby brain tissue, a new study in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) shows. Researchers say these findings may help to advance scientists’ understanding of the mechanisms that underlie brain damage in…
July 13, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD XPro1595 may promote myelin restoration, new mouse study finds INmune Bio‘s experimental therapy XPro1595 may promote myelin restoration through the activation of two types of nervous system support cells, according to new data that may lead to novel treatment strategies for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative disorders. The findings highlight the activation of microglia, key…
July 12, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD NfL blood levels may help predict long-term progression of MS: Study Elevated blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a marker of nerve damage, are associated with long-term disability progression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) ā even among those without acute relapses or MRI disease activity ā a study revealed. The results demonstrate the potential utility of NfL blood…
July 12, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Tysabri best of 6 DMTs to prevent relapses, worse disability in MS Tysabri (natalizumab) is better than five other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) at reducing relapses and preventing disability worsening in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to the findings of a novel simulated clinical trial that directly compared the six treatments. The analysis used mathematical modeling to emulate a clinical trial…
July 11, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Research supports inclusion of optic nerve in McDonald criteria for MS Adding optic nerve damage ā reflected by a thinning of the nerve layer in the eye’s retina ā to the existing diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS) was found to enhance diagnostic accuracy among people who had a single, MS-like event, according to a new study. The study “demonstrated…
July 11, 2023 News by Mary Chapman EU project aims to identify best MS treatment for given patient using AI A European Union (EU) initiative is bringing scientists together to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform that could help in predicting the course of multiple sclerosis (MS) for each person. The consortium’s project, which aims to “offer clinicians a holistic overview of the MS patient” ā from disease…
July 10, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Mavenclad found comparable to Gilenya in highly active MS Mavenclad (cladribine) is equally as effective as Gilenya (fingolimod) in reducing relapse rates among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with highly active disease, according to a new real-world comparison. Disability worsening and the development of new lesions also were similar between the two patient groups ā but…
July 10, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Sexual dysfunction could be an issue for 61% of women with MS Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are three times more likely to face problems with sexual intimacy than are their healthy counterparts, according to a recent meta-analysis. About 61% of women with MS were estimated to have some degree of sexual dysfunction, with the most common being low…
July 7, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Outcomes better for RRMS patients who start on higher efficacy DMTs Outcomes are better for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) initially treated with higher efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) than for those who begin with lower efficacy DMTs and escalate to more effective treatments as the disease progresses, according to a real-world analysis of patient registry data. Findings also…
July 7, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD CPT code issued for MRI brain scan software by Icometrix Icometrix‘s quantification software for brain MRI scans has received a Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) III code, a temporary code for emerging technologies that should facilitate reimbursement. CPT codes, issued by the American Medical Association, are designed to identify procedures and services in healthcare plans. They are used in the…
July 6, 2023 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Kesimpta reduces relapses, brain lesions for up to 5 years: Study Up to five years of treatment with Kesimpta (ofatumumab) continues to keep the number of relapses and brain lesions low in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), with most patients showing no evidence of disease activity. These are new data from the ongoing ALITHIOS study…
July 6, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Myelin may promote nerve cell damage in early immune attacks Nerve cells coated with myelin ā the fatty substance that’s lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā may be more vulnerable to degeneration in an inflammatory environment than cells lacking myelin, researchers working in MS patient tissues and mouse models report. The scientists believe the phenomenon arises when certain…
July 5, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD AI algorithms may predict cognitive decline in MS over coming year Researchers have developed computer algorithms that may be able to predict certain aspects of cognitive change in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The prediction models, constructed using data from an electronic, self-administered test of information processing speed given MS patients, might accurately identify those likely to experience cognitive worsening over…
July 5, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Neurologist Xavier Montalban wins 2023 Charcot Award for research The director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (CEMCAT) has been recognized with the 2023 Charcot Award, a prestigious prize that honors researchers for their lifetime work toward understanding multiple sclerosis (MS). Xavier Montalban, MD, PhD, has contributed to several areas of MS research and clinical care…
July 3, 2023 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Potentially safer MRI gadolinium-based contrast agent to enter testing Gadoquatrane, a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) that may be safer than current agents for people undergoing MRI scans, has entered a Phase 3 clinical testing program. Quanti CNS (NCT05915702), one of the three global trials in Bayer‘s development program, will assess gadoquatrane against an…
July 3, 2023 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Cigarette smoking slows recovery after an MS relapse, study finds Cigarette smoking significantly slows recovery time from a relapse for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a pilot study in Iran. Similar links with relapse recovery were not seen for tobacco use with water pipes or exposure through second-hand smoke, also known as passive smoking. Findings add…
June 30, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Aubagio shifts immune cell balance in RRMS, study reveals Aubagio (teriflunomide), an approved therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), works by shifting the balance between activated subsets of nerve-damaging immune cells to those with immunosuppressive traits, a new study reveals. Further studies to understand how changes in immune cell subsets drive Aubagioās clinical effectiveness will…
June 30, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Newly discovered genetic variant tied to faster MS progression Researchers identified a genetic variant that associated with faster multiple sclerosis (MS) progression and greater brain tissue damage, according to a study that combined data on more than 12,500 patients in North America, Europe and Australia. Unlike previously detected MS-related variants linked to the immune system, this variant sits…
June 29, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Diet rich in plant products linked to fewer symptoms in MS Diet was found to significantly influence the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms among patients living in Denmark in a new real-world study. A diet rich in plant-based products was generally associated with a lower symptom burden than one high in red and processed meats. The same was true…
June 29, 2023 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Ocrevus keeps MS activity stable after stopping Tysabri: Study Switching from Tysabri (natalizumab) to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) does not appear to increase disease activity in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and stable disease, with most patients continuing to show no relapses or brain imaging findings one year after the transition, a clinical study shows.