News

A researcher at the University of Adelaide, in Australia, has received an AU$390,000 grant (about $280,000) to investigate how inflammatory T-cells reach the blood and brain of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The 3-year fellowship grant was awarded to Iain Comerford, PhD, for his project, titled “Stopping T cells…

Lower-than-normal volumes of certain brain regions at disease onset — indicating shrinkage, or atrophy, in those regions — are significantly associated with current and future fatigue severity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study in Germany shows. Some of these regions also were found to be central brain…

A neurology professor at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has received the 2021 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research for his work in understanding how the immune system causes multiple sclerosis (MS). The international $100,000 prize, administered by the National MS Society, was awarded to Amit…

The MS Society of the U.K. intends to raise over £1.1 million (about $1.5 million) to support nine multiple sclerosis (MS) research projects, marking the return of the grants program it put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding will support research in the…

Therapeutics designed to produce new oligodendrocytes — the cells responsible for the protective myelin sheath that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS) — might be the most effective approach for disorders such as MS, according to a study conducted in a fish model. That’s because oligodendrocytes that survive being…

The addition of neurodynamic therapy — a type of manual therapy targeting the nerves — to a standard treatment regimen using several different approaches reduced pain sensitivity and improved dexterity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a clinical trial. “To the best of our…

VISIONARY-MS, a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of CNM-Au8 in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) with disease-related visual impairment, will conclude early due to COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges. The release of trial data is expected in the second half of this year, according to…

The label of Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) — an approved therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) — has been updated in Europe to no longer contain a warning against its use during breastfeeding. The label update follows a review by European Union health authorities of non-clinical and clinical evidence submitted…

Getting more physical activity and having effective ways of coping with multiple sclerosis (MS) could help to ease anxiety in patients, a review study suggests. “The findings of this review highlight links between anxiety in MS and a number of diverse factors, all of which are amenable to change,”…

Molecular “traps” made by neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, to fight bacteria may contribute to the excessive inflammatory activity of T-helper 17 immune T-cells, which are known to play a role in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). Neutrophils are equipped with a number of biochemical tools…

Treatment with an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) seems to reboot the immune system in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients for at least three years, a small study found. The study, “Sustained immunotolerance in multiple sclerosis after stem cell transplant,” was published in Annals of Clinical and…

Almost half of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients show reduced bone density (osteopenia) and about 17% have osteoporosis, a progressive disease characterized by weak bones that are prone to fractures, a review study of data covering almost 14,000 patients reported. These findings suggest that people with MS should be monitored…

Eating a lot of green leafy and other vegetables, beans, nuts and berries seems to significantly lower the likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study from Iran. The findings also suggest that the chances of developing the disease may be higher in people who eat more…

Pasithea Therapeutics announced plans to develop a tolerizing vaccine that would treat multiple sclerosis (MS) by “training” the immune system in ways that prevent its damaging attacks. The vaccine will be developed under Pasithea’s new chemical entity development program for MS in collaboration with Hooke…

Note: An earlier version of this story stated the Scottish Medicines Consortium approved Vumerity for RRMS patients in that country. The consortium decides to add a medicine to Scotland’s National Health Service; the MHRA approves treatments for England, Scotland, and Wales. The Scottish Medicines Consortium has approved adding the…

Doctors and nurses involved in the care of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) at a center in Scotland “highly” value the existence of a Pelvic Health Clinic for referrals — where patients identified as having concerns related to sexual health can be referred for consultation for guidance and care…

The majority of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who stop taking Tysabri (natalizumab) before or when they become pregnant experience a disease relapse during pregnancy or shortly thereafter, according to a study out of Germany. In more than one out of every 10 cases, relapses were so severe that…

The Swedish Medical Products Agency has approved AB Science’s request to launch in the country a confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial of its lead candidate masitinib in adults with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and nonactive secondary progressive MS (SPMS). The decision comes on the heels of a similar authorization by the…

Sports was a huge part of Armand Thoinet’s life, and when he was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) one week before his 19th birthday, that life turned upside down. He could no longer engage in activities that mattered greatly to him, such as rugby, tennis, and skiing. “I…

Changes in the genome of oligodendrocytes were found in DNA regions associated with immune genes and risk mutations linked to multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. The changes identified make it possible for these immune genes and MS-associated regions to have an altered expression — meaning being…

This year’s Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Award, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, has gone to a Yale University researcher who is searching for biomarkers of radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) in children. RIS occurs when imaging findings on MRI scans are similar to those seen in people…

KAT7, an enzyme known to regulate gene activity, is essential for the process of teaching immune T-cells to correctly identify the body’s molecules and cells as ‘self’ — a process that goes awry in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. This enzyme is also critical for training T-cells…

More than half of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with self-injectable therapies — namely, glatiramer acetate, marketed as Copaxone, among others, or any of a host of interferons — showed no evidence of disease activity after two years, according to a study out of Turkey. Among patients treated for…

A relationship between meat consumption and how it affects gut bacteria, immune cell profiles, and metabolism was identified in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) participating in a small study. Specifically, a diet rich in meat was associated with a decrease in Bacteriodes thetaiotaomicron, a common gut bacteria that works…

A novel algorithm that combines genetic, environmental, and clinical data could be useful for predicting whether people with a first onset of multiple sclerosis (MS)-like disease — known as clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) — will experience relapses or a worsening of their disease over time. The…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by changes in methylation — a type of chemical modification in the DNA that changes how genes are read — in immune cells called T-cells, according to a new study. The results also suggest that treatments for MS can help to normalize methylation…

Atara Biotherapeutics has reached an agreement with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies for the production of its cell therapy pipeline, including ATA188, an experimental therapy being investigated for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Under the agreement, Fujifilm will acquire Atara’s T-Cell Operations and Manufacturing (ATOM) facility in Thousand…

A Phase 2 clinical trial into the safety and tolerability of higher-dose temelimab as a potential therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is now complete, and top-line data is expected by late March, its developer, GeNeuro, announced. The ProTEct-MS Phase 2 trial (NCT04480307), conducted at the Karolinska…

Nearly a third of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with COVID-19 experience symptoms that last at least one month, according to a review of of more than 550 infected MS patients in the U.K. who did not need to be hospitalized. This study’s rate is higher than that reported for the…

Trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic pain condition characterized by shocks or burning sensations in the face, seems to be much more common among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) than in the general population, according to a review of published studies. This condition also is more prevalent in women with…