Nearly two-thirds of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) report disease progression independent of relapses, according to a survey involving more than 4,500 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in Germany. This finding supports evidence pointing to progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) as an underestimated contributing factor in RRMS.
A type of blood-cleansing process called immunoadsorption worked better than a second round of methylprednisolone for treating relapse in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who failed to respond to a first, standard cycle of the corticosteroid, a study found. Among people with relapsing MS, immunoadsorption also was associated with…
Long-term treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) significantly improves cognitive function and increases the chance of disability reduction in people with early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to data from the four-year observational STRIVE trial. Patients on Tysabri also reported improved quality of life and less impact of MS on…
The 11 active tests of the dreaMS smartphone app — which evaluates functional domains affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) — enabled reliable and remote measurement of neurologic functions and were perceived as meaningful among MS patients, a small trial shows. Data collected through the app could offer a…
People with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) or Gilenya (fingolimod) are less likely to have disease activity than those on low-efficacy MS medications, according to a small study conducted in Japan. Results also showed that patients receiving the high-efficacy therapies had less brain shrinkage,…
Off-label use of high-efficacy disease modifying therapies (DMTs) for people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) appear to be as effective as on-label, or approved, DMTs for this MS patient group, a review study from Brazil suggests. The meta-analysis, which included data from controlled clinical trials, found that…
Three months of once-weekly sessions of high-intensity resistance training — consisting of strength exercises followed by a short recovery between sets — effectively eased fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients experiencing low energy and tiredness, a trial in Sweden shows. This intervention also lessened feelings of depression and anxiety,…
Doctors typically prescribe medications to help manage symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), but a veteran nonprofit focuses on a little-known, much-overlooked part of treatment: therapeutic adventuring. First Descents was founded in 2001 to bring free outdoor activities to young adults with cancer. After a successful pilot study,…
The Accelerated Cure Project (ACP) for multiple sclerosis (MS) is teaming up with Quest Diagnostics to study how MS patients respond to COVID-19 vaccines. “Understanding the immune response to the COVID-19 vaccine doses in a longer-term study in people with MS will provide tremendous insights into not…
Combining blood and imaging biomarkers might help clinicians better predict cognitive impairment in people with early multiple sclerosis (MS) than using either one alone, a new study suggests. Researchers found that using the two together worked better to predict information processing speed than did either blood or MRI biomarkers…
An extended interval between maintenance doses of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) may increase the risk of MRI-based disease activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a real-world, multicenter study in Italy. In fact, an extended interval dosing (by one month or longer) was associated with a fivefold higher risk…
People with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) have more microscopic damage in normal-appearing brain tissue than do patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a new imaging study. These patients also have a greater number of chronic active lesions than those with RRMS. “Using advanced diffusion MRI…
Abnormalities in the auditory and vestibular systems, which control hearing and balance, are frequently reported among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study found. However, there is a substantial amount of variability in scientific studies that assess these abnormalities, making it difficult to draw an overarching conclusion about…
People who underwent a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), many of them patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), were supportive of the treatment despite its high costs — and hesitancy and opposition from their neurologists — a survey study showed. Most surveyed HSCT recipients — about 85% — believed…
Treatment with medrysone, a glucocorticoid approved in the U.S. as a topical treatment for certain inflammatory eye diseases, improved repair of myelin in a mouse model of demyelination, a new study shows. The results suggest medrysone may be a useful treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), which is…
Long-term treatment with Ponvory (ponesimod) safely and effectively reduces the rate of relapses, slows disability worsening, and prevents brain volume decline in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). That’s according to eight years of data from patients enrolled in a now-completed Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT01006265) and its…
The protective barrier that prevents cells and large molecules from crossing into the central nervous system (CNS) is known to be unusually “leaky” in multiple sclerosis (MS), but targeting a protein called ARF6 can help to stabilize this barrier, a study in mouse models of MS found. Such a treatment…
Treatment with the experimental B-cell depleting therapy ublituximab significantly outperformed Aubagio (teriflunomide) at reducing relapse rates and the number of lesions in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to updated data from the Phase 3 ULTIMATE clinical trials. The two medications had comparable effects…
An experimental oral therapy called TRE-515 significantly reduced disease severity and the growth of the abnormal immune cells that drive multiple sclerosis (MS) in two mouse models of the disease, a study found. Notably, the efficacy of Trethera Corp.’s potential treatment, administered either in a preventive or therapeutic…
How much a country spends on healthcare is associated with the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS), with higher spending nations seeing a greater number of MS cases, a study found. MS cases might be underestimated in low-income nations that put less money into the healthcare system, resulting in reduced…
Biosimilar, or “follow-on,” forms of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that have been approved in a highly regulated area can be considered as safe and effective as their reference medications, according to multiple sclerosis (MS) experts. A biosimilar is a medication that’s highly similar to an existing biological medication in…
People who had infectious mononucleosis — a contagious disease for which the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the leading cause — had a higher incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the 10 years following diagnosis compared with individuals not diagnosed with the virus, a study found. This link was particularly…
Aquatic exercise therapy can help to ease fatigue and improve balance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), without notable side effects, according to a review of published studies. These findings have important implications for MS patients, as fatigue is among the main symptoms of the disease and…
A data-driven algorithm may be useful for defining the sometimes unclear transition from relapsing-remitting (RRMS) to secondary progressive (SPMS) forms of multiple sclerosis, a study found. The study, “Towards a validated definition of the clinical transition to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: A study from the Italian MS Register,”…
The newest recipients of the MS Australia incubator grants will seek novel ways to prevent and treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and explore the prevalence and incidence of the neurodegenerative disorder in different parts of the country. One scientist will use the funding to explore disease risk factors — and…
Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are not at a higher risk of their babies having growth deficits during pregnancy or after birth than individuals without the disease, a study suggests. Yet, the data showed women with MS are significantly more likely to deliver their babies by cesarean section (C-section)…
Worldwide, about 22 in every 100,000 people live with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a review study analyzing data across various countries reported. Its researchers found substantial variability in SPMS rates country-by-country, with countries closer to the poles generally reporting higher prevalence than those near the equator. Rates also…
Baclofen, an approved therapy for spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, promoted the repair of myelin — the protective sheath around nerve fibers that’s progressively lost in MS — in a mouse model of the disease, a study showed. These findings suggest baclofen — sold as oral tablets,…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Trethera Corporation’s experimental oral therapy TRE-515 for demyelinating optic neuritis, an eye condition that may progress to multiple sclerosis (MS) or occur during the disease course. The first-in-class therapy is expected to lessen the inflammation…
Publicity in national news outlets and an online self-screening questionnaire helped improve recruitment for a clinical trial in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a new study highlights. “We have described our experience of recruiting participants with SPMS into two large RCTs [randomized clinical trials] in order to identify areas…
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