News

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has maintained its initial draft recommendation and will not recommend that Zeposia (ozanimod) be added to the National Health Service (NHS) of England and Wales. This final decision on the cost effectiveness of the oral therapy means Zeposia will…

B-cell-depleting therapies given to adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) affect the production of antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, a study reported. This finding has “consequences” for immunity in this patient group, whether that immunity follows SARS-CoV-2 infection or…

A conversational bot is being developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to promote COVID-19 vaccinations among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are hesitant to take the vaccine. The project is meant to provide accessible digital health information about the vaccines to more vulnerable populations…

Therini Bio announced raising $17 million in a financing round to speed the development of an antibody that might treat people with inflammatory conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), associated with damage to blood vessels. These funds will also support work aiming to move this antibody, targeting the protein…

The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) has launched a monthly webinar series, in partnership with NeurologyLive, to keep doctors and others treating people with multiple sclerosis (MS) informed of the latest in disease care and research. Called “The Ever Changing Face of MS,” the series opened on…

The Autoimmune Registry (ARI) has opened a fundraiser, called “Cure the Mother’s Disease,” to support the development of a tool that might detect multiple sclerosis (MS) in early stages during an eye exam. This fundraiser, …

Although multiple sclerosis (MS) affects many different races and ethnicities and may even be more aggressive in some of these patient populations, minority representation in MS clinical trials remains critically low. Black patients made up only a fraction of the total enrollment in large-scale Phase 3 trials for three…

The prevalence of fatigue continues to be high among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) despite significant progress over the years in therapies that change the course of the disease, a large survey study in Norway found. The findings also show that the frequency of fatigue is higher in…

A new 3D model of the human nervous system is meant to mimic key processes in the development of the myelin sheath — the fatty coating around nerve cells that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS) — to help with research into treatments that promote myelination. This model might also…

Certain fat molecules produced by gut microbes, which have protective immune-suppressing effects and may protect against multiple sclerosis (MS), are lower in women than in men, a case-control study has found. These findings may explain the greater MS susceptibility observed in women, the scientists…

A short film produced for Hispanic/Latinx people who live with multiple sclerosis (MS) improved patients’ understanding of the condition and the effectiveness of treatment, a study found.  “Health communication interventions, like film, have been shown to be effective tools in promoting positive attitudes…

Yale University is launching CELLO, a multicenter study to investigate the efficacy of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in treating people with lesions suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS), a condition known as radiologically isolated syndrome. The Phase 4 study (NCT04877457) aims to evaluate whether short-term treatment with Ocrevus can…

The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada‘s (MSSC) MS Walk fundraiser is still on for this month — May is MS Awareness Month in Canada — although in an altered form due to the pandemic. The annual nationwide community-driven event raises funds and MS awareness to help battle the neurodegenerative…

Two global Phase 3 clinical trials comparing fenebrutinib, an investigational oral BTK inhibitor by Roche, with Aubagio (teriflunomide) are now enrolling adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), the National MS Society announced in a press release. The twin studies, called FENhance 1 (NCT04586023)…

Subtle Medical announced the granting of a U.S. patent for its radiology software that uses artificial intelligence to improve the quality of medical imaging, with the potential to reduce the amount of gadolinium, a contrast agent, needed to one-tenth of its usual dose. Gadolinium, a heavy metal, is included in…

Treatment with Zeposia (ozanimod) significantly reduces the risk of relapse, decreases the proportion of patients experiencing a relapse, and has a better safety profile than Aubagio (teriflunomide) for people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an indirect comparison of clinical trial data.

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) using approved oral disease-modifying therapies generally tolerate the treatments well, with real-world adverse event profiles similar to those seen in clinical trials, an analysis of U.S. data indicates. Results also suggest high adherence to these therapies — meaning patients are usually taking the therapies…

Repertoire Immune Medicines and Yale University have entered a research collaboration to identify what type of antigens are activating immune T-cells in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Antigens are molecular structures, such as a portion of a protein or a specific chain of sugars, that trigger an immune…

Restless legs syndrome, the name given to the considerable discomfort people feel in their lower limbs, accompanied by an irresistible urge to move them, more frequently affects multiple sclerosis (MS) patients than the general public, and significantly impacts sleep quality, a case control study shows. While the type of MS treatment used…

Despite the current challenging times, the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) will host its annual Improving Lives Benefit this year, albeit virtually. The May 13 event will spotlight the nonprofit organization’s community efforts over more than 50 years. The affair will be hosted by multiple sclerosis (MS)…

The combined use of generic and disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures gives a clearer representation of the effects of multiple sclerosis on patients’ quality of life and enables a more accurate comparison across countries, a study has found. “The…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected Biogen‘s request for approval of under-the-skin administration of Tysabri (natalizumab) as a treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). “This response from the FDA does not affect the intravenous administration of Tysabri, a well-established high-efficacy treatment with a…

The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada has awarded CA$1 million to a project helping doctors who treat multiple sclerosis (MS) patients make more personalized treatment decisions through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The society awarded the five-year grant (worth about $814,800) to Douglas Arnold, MD, a neurologist with…

TG Therapeutics has expanded its contract with Samsung Biologics to manufacture ublituximab, an investigational therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). “Samsung is the global leader in biologics manufacturing and we are happy to have them as our partner as we look forward to the potential commercialization…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, held April 17–22. Go here to read stories from the conference. After starting treatment with the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Mavenclad (cladribine), some types of immune cells are more affected…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, held April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. A novel method to calculate how long it takes therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) to become fully effective…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) continues to be safe and well-tolerated, in addition to reducing measures of disease activity in people…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Treating multiple sclerosis (MS) in its earlier stages with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) can substantially lower disease activity and lessen damage…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. A majority of the relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients given Mavenclad (cladribine) tablets in the CLARITY Phase 3 trial did…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that target CD20 are associated with worse outcomes from COVID-19 in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, an…