News

Higher blood levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a molecule involved in inflammation, may predict a faster rate of brain shrinkage, or atrophy, in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). That’s according to a new analysis of data from the SPRINT-MS Phase 2 trial (NCT01982942) that…

Elderly adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) who adhere more to a Mediterranean diet tend to have less severe disability and fewer mental health, sleep, and cognitive problems, according to a new study. “This study has provided evidence that adopting [a Mediterranean diet] at higher levels was associated with lower…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to experience depression, sexual dysfunction, constipation, inflammation of the bladder, and urinary tract infection in the five years leading up to their diagnosis than those without the disease, a study found. These findings parallel growing evidence that there’s a prodromal phase, in…

Treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine) over two years significantly improved physical and mental health aspects of quality of life in people with highly active relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a final analysis of data from the Phase 4 CLARIFY-MS study. Mavenclad is an oral medication approved for people with…

The Phase 3 EVOLUTION clinical trials have failed to demonstrate that evobrutinib is more effective than the approved medication Aubagio (teriflunomide) at preventing disease flares in people with relapsing types of multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings, which were shared by the drug’s developer Merck KGaA (known…

Treatment with essential oils derived from green tea or pumpkin reduced brain damage in a rat model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. The oils also helped to restore the abnormal levels of neurotransmitters — chemical messengers that nerve cells use to communicate — and reduce markers…

EBV-001, a vaccine candidate being developed by EBViously to target the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), triggered the production of potent antibodies against the virus in mice, and blood samples from these animals prevented EBV infection in lab-grown human cells. That’s according to new data presented by the company, which is…

A new clinical trial in Australia, called PLATYPUS, will simultaneously test two medications that have already been approved for other conditions in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The study, expected to launch in January, will use an adaptive design, meaning data will be analyzed as…

People with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) at younger ages are more likely to have higher disease activity, suggesting they may respond better to disease-modifying therapies, according to a review of published studies. “Our findings confirm that younger patients tend to have more inflammatory activity, and so younger…

Tiziana Life Sciences has dosed four new participants in an expanded access program investigating its foralumab nasal spray in people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), the company announced. A total of 10 SPMS patients are now being followed outside of clinical trials in foralumab’s expanded…

Adhering to an aerobic exercise program of moderate to intense cycling for 12 weeks significantly eased pain and fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), allowing them to be more active in daily life, a small pilot clinical trial found. Results were similar for patients in the trial’s forced…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared BrainSpec Core, a platform that performs non-invasive measurements of brain chemistry, for use in diagnosing some of the most common diseases that affect the brain, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Developed by BrainSpec, the platform uses magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)…

The presence of damaged myelin — the fatty, protective substance surrounding nerve cells that’s lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) — may be more harmful to nerve cells than its removal altogether, according to new preclinical research. In mouse models of myelin-associated disease, a failure of microglia — the…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) engage in significantly more sedentary behaviors — activities like watching TV or using a computer or smartphone versus those requiring physical movement, such as exercise — than do individuals without the progressive disease, according to a pooled analysis of published studies. This effect was…

A novel therapy in which neural stem cells are injected into the brain was well tolerated by 15 people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) in a pilot clinical trial. Participants’ disability levels and cognition, as well as markers of inflammation and nerve damage, all remained stable for up…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who discontinue a disease-modifying treatment are more likely to have greater long-term disability than patients who continue with such therapies or go untreated, a registry database study reports. Findings also suggest that patients who self-report better mobility early in their disease course also…

About three-quarters of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients given an under-the-skin formulation of cladribine had no disease activity or didn’t receive any additional therapies 4.5 years after starting treatment, a study shows. Cladribine is the active ingredient in the oral therapy Mavenclad and is typically given in two short treatment…

Certain clinical attributes of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), such as safety and the medication’s impact on risk of relapse and disability progression, are considered important by healthcare providers in selecting the appropriate treatment for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new survey study. However, a study experiment also…

Extending Tysabri (natalizumab) dosing intervals based on the drug’s blood levels was as effective at controlling disease activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) as the approved four-week dosing regimen. That’s according to results from NEXT-MS (NCT04225312), a Phase 4 clinical trial studying whether tailoring Tysabri’s…

The Patent and Trademark Office intends to grant a U.S. patent covering all dosing regimens of vidofludimus calcium — being developed as IMU-838 — for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). That includes the doses being used in developer Immunic Therapeutics’ ongoing clinical program, according to a…

Pixyl.Neuro, a next-generation software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) in analyzing MRI scans to help detect and monitor multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity, has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use. 510(k) clearance is required for medical devices used in the…

Women who smoked during pregnancy, and their offspring, showed a significantly higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in a recent Danish study. “Our observations add further to the evidence implicating smoking in the development of MS and suggest that intra-uterine exposure to tobacco smoke may increase MS risk,”…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) again has certified Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute’s Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Related Diseases at Hackensack University Medical Center as a multiple sclerosis (MS) comprehensive care center. In addition to meeting the NMSS’ core requirements, the certification’s renewal also recognizes…

Nearly two years of treatment with Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) significantly reduced relapse rates by more than 80% in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to the final published details of the EVOLVE-MS-1 clinical trial. MRI scans also showed the number of active inflammatory lesions and new…

InSilicoTrials (IST) has received this year’s Innovation Radar Prize for its efforts to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to advance clinical trials and predictive technologies that may benefit people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases. Launched in 2015 by the European Commission, the award recognizes European Union (EU)-funded…

iConquerMS, a research initiative where people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) contribute their health data and ideas, is expanding its research program to include caregivers of people with MS. Established in 2014 by the Accelerated Cure Project (ACP), iConquerMS has launched a new website and research…

Infection with a herpes virus known as HHV-6A is associated with significantly higher levels of the nerve damage biomarker neurofilament light chain (NfL) in the years leading up to multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. “In blood samples from individuals who later developed MS, we could see that antibodies…

Supplementation with coconut oil and the green tea component epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) significantly reduces the levels of fatty molecules called triglycerides in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a pilot study from Spain. This reduction may complement improvements in functional capacity that have been reported previously following…

COVID-19 doesn’t appear to increase the likelihood of a relapse, where new symptoms suddenly appear or existing ones worsen, for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a meta-analysis of more than a dozen studies. The findings alleviate some of the concerns MS patients may have about developing COVID-19,…

A commercial probiotic supplement containing the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii significantly eased pain and fatigue, and improved mental health and quality of life, in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to data from a clinical trial in Iran. The probiotic, BioDigest, also reduced inflammation and oxidative stress, a form…