News

Labcorp has launched a widely accessible test that measures the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, to screen for signs of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The test is performed on a standard blood sample taken at a hospital, at the…

Rune Labs has partnered with Coastal Research Institute (CRI) to identify new and noninvasive biomarkers of the loss of myelin, the fatty sheath surrounding nerve fibers that is progressively damaged by multiple sclerosis (MS). The collaboration involves a patient study that will take advantage of Rune Labs’…

An eight-week calorie-restricted diet plan — known as intermittent fasting — led to immune and metabolic changes among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a small pilot clinical trial, data show. The findings could underlie some of the proposed benefits of calorie restriction on MS disease course, the researchers…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has agreed to review a request to approve Polpharma Biologics‘ biosimilar natalizumab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). This marks the first time the regulatory agency accepted a marketing authorization application for a biosimilar of Tysabri, an approved MS treatment. “The acceptance…

The presence of iron rim lesions (IRLs), which are regions of chronic nervous system damage with ongoing inflammation, visible on MRI scans, is linked with more substantial disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. However, the connection between these lesions and worse disability does not…

Note: This story was updated July 20, 2022, to correct the headline to reflect that Soliris might be a potential treatment for progressive MS based on data from a single case report. A female patient with undiagnosed secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) was placed on Soliris (eculizumab)…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with rituximab were more than five times less likely to experience a relapse compared with patients given Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), according to data from a Phase 3 clinical trial. Patients on the experimental therapy also were 32% more likely to have no evidence…

Helius Medical Technologies has launched an online training module for physical therapists who wish to use the company’s Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) device to treat gait deficits in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The on-demand training modules for healthcare providers in the U.S. are now live, with…

A six-week program combining yoga and group discussions about resilience led to significant reductions in fatigue and anxiety, and improvements in well-being, for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results from a pilot study. Researchers noted that the program, known as LoveYourBrain Yoga, “may improve a range of…

An independent committee of experts has recommended that the Phase 2 portion of the EMBOLD clinical trial continue as planned without a sample size adjustment, following an analysis of safety and effectiveness data. The trial is testing Atara Biotherapeutics‘ experimental medication ATA188 in progressive forms of multiple…

Rates of sexual and emotional abuse are higher in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with women in the general population, according to a new study from Norway. These women are also at more than two times higher risk of being revictimized, which occurs when a person who has…

Kesimpta (ofatumumab) may be more effective at reducing relapse rates than other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in Japanese adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review of clinical trial data. Although the differences were not statistically significant, the study provided comparative evidence that may help…

Treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) may significantly reduce the risk of relapse in children with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new analysis of the TERIKIDS clinical trial that took into account data from adult trials. Results were in the paper “Reinterpreting Clinical Trials in Children With…

For the second year, the communications and software company Windstream is supporting the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, touted as the world’s largest annual wheelchair sports event exclusively for military veterans. The event is for all U.S. veterans with a spinal cord injury, amputation, multiple sclerosis (MS), or other…

Sepsis, a life-threatening response to an infection that can result in tissue damage and organ failure, was reported in nearly one-third of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), a Texas study found. This condition was linked to longer hospital stays, higher costs, and a…

Some prodromal symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) — symptoms that are evident before the disease begins in earnest — could help to predict the course of MS, a new study proposes. In particular, its researchers suggest that MS patients with prodromal depression are more likely to be diagnosed…

Levels of certain inflammatory proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid around the brain and spinal cord, may help predict the risk of relapse activity for individuals with early multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study found. High levels of three such proteins were predictive of a greater risk of…

Delaying the start of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) increases the risk of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) needing a disability pension to compensate for a permanent reduced capacity to work,  according to a Danish study. The study, “Time to first treatment and risk of disability pension…

Smoking is associated with lower brain volume, more brain lesions, and greater disability and attention deficits among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) after 10 years, according to a study in Norway. “The findings imply that patients should be advised and offered aid in smoking cessation shortly after diagnosis, to…

Fully vaccinated multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who are treated with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) or Gilenya (fingolimod) have a significantly higher risk of COVID-19 infection than those given other immunosuppressive therapies, according to a study in Italy. Called breakthrough infections, these post-vaccination cases of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes…

Lower levels of income and education, as well as other socioeconomic factors, are associated with the presence and severity of fatigue among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study in Norway found. Women, smokers, and those with other co-existing conditions or a higher disability level also were more…

An MRI technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) can be used to accurately identify remyelinated brain lesions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a research team has discovered. Remyelinated lesions are those in which the myelin sheath — the protective coating around nerve fibers that is progressively lost…

Taking the pregnancy hormone estriol in combination with Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) significantly reduced the blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — a marker of nerve damage — in women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), clinical trial data show. These lower NfL levels were significantly associated with a…

An assistive device made it significantly easier and more comfortable for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with arm and hand mobility problems to self-administer nabiximols — an oral spray containing compounds found in the cannabis plant — a study found. Trained nurses involved in the study agreed with its…

The safety and efficacy of the approved multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Mavenclad (cladribine) in a real-world group of patients were similar to what had been demonstrated in clinical trials, a new study reports. Among 243 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), more than 60% showed no…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a partial clinical hold on Phase 3 trials testing the investigational therapy tolebrutinib in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and myasthenia gravis based on reports of medication-induced liver injury. Under the clinical hold, new enrollment at U.S. sites…

Fatigue is a common symptom among people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), and has a significant negative impact on physical and psychological function, as well as quality of life, a U.K. study reported. Citing the study as the “largest study on fatigue in MS from U.K.,”  researchers emphasized that…

Long-term treatment with Zeposia (ozanimod) stabilizes or even improves cognitive function in adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly among those with greater brain volumes. That’s according to five years of data from the completed SUNBEAM Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT02294058) and the ongoing…

The Phase 3 RELEASE MSS1 clinical trial testing nabiximols oral spray failed to meet its primary goal of easing leg spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to Jazz Pharmaceuticals, the company currently developing the nabiximols clinical program. Enrolling 68 MS patients,…

OM1 has created an artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm to estimate scores on the expanded disability status scale (EDSS), an established method for evaluating disability and disease progression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The algorithm, using a method called machine learning, was trained to estimate EDSS scores…