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People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who receive anti-CD20 therapies such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) are significantly less likely to discontinue their treatment compared with patients who are given other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a Swiss study has found. Staying on treatment may be related to the effectiveness of B-cell-depleting…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a prefilled syringe format for Ani Pharmaceuticals’ purified Cortrophin Gel that’s expected to reduce the number of steps needed for administering the therapy — used in multiple sclerosis (MS) to treat relapses. The approval means that people with conditions…

In the lymph nodes of the neck of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), certain immune cells show abnormalities in activity and signs of reactions against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a new study reports. The findings may help to explain the connection between MS and EBV, researchers said. The study,…

Neurons, also called nerve cells, collected from brain lesions of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) were found to accumulate new genetic mutations at a significantly faster rate than healthy neurons did, according to a new report. The researchers also found that neurons in such lesions exhibited distinct mutation…

Black people with multiple sclerosis (MS) walk more slowly and cover shorter distances over a certain time period than white people with the disease, a study in the U.S. finds. While the differences were somewhat attenuated when other factors that may impact walking ability were considered, such as age,…

In people with multiple sclerosis (MS), lesions that get slowly bigger over time, potentially due to chronic inflammation, are associated with more myelin loss throughout the brain, a study found. Loss of myelin was observed in these slowly expanding lesions, in other types of lesions, and also in regions…

Disability progression independent of relapse activity, or PIRA, in the earliest stages of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is associated with worsening quality of life, a study in Sweden shows. PIRA is a form of sustained disability worsening that occurs in the absence of multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses. While…

Using a simple algorithm to recommend highly effective disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can help make treatment fairer for all patients, and level inequalities otherwise defined by race or ethnicity, a new study by U.S. researchers suggests. Indeed, use of the algorithm over a…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who switch from a high- to a moderate-efficacy disease-modifying therapy (DMT) increase their risk of disease activity, especially younger adults and those having inflammatory disease activity before a switch, a study finds. Knowing these factors “can help guide future studies on deescalation,” researchers…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who eat more fish are significantly less likely to see confirmed disability progression and the greater the intake, the lower the progression risk, a study in Sweden finds. The dietary habits of patients were assessed at the time of their diagnosis and disability progression…

Note: This story was updated March 6, 2025, to clarify the specific disability measures and results assessed in each trial. Sanofi’s experimental BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib may be more effective at reducing the risk of disability accumulation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have evidence of paramagnetic…

A new model that combines genetic and symptom-based risk scores to predict the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) could help to accelerate the disease’s diagnosis, and allow patients to receive earlier treatment, a team of U.S. researchers noted in a study. In a presentation detailing this work at this…

Proposed revisions to the McDonald criteria, a set of diagnostic guidelines for multiple sclerosis (MS), may help diagnose people who could have been missed under earlier versions, according to a recent analysis. That includes people with radiological-only onset, when there are signs of disease on MRI scans but…

A neurodegenerative disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) is estimated to affect more than 1.8 million people worldwide — across all ages, races, sexes, and geographical regions. During Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month this March, patients, caregivers, and other advocates are coming together to provide opportunities to connect, educate, inspire, empower, and…

Note: This study was updated March 3, 2025, to correct that a ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. Eating a version of the low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet for six months led to an anti-inflammatory shift in immune cell populations among people with stable, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)…

Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) may have a beneficial effect on paramagnetic rim lesions — known as PRL, these are a type of chronic inflammatory lesion — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a newly shared analysis. PRLs, a form of nerve damage seen in MS, have…

Immune cells from people with multiple sclerosis (MS) exhibit distinct gene activity just before patients have a disease relapse, according to recent research. The observed immune perturbations, which are no longer observed by the time the relapse is actively underway, are consistent with the body’s response to a reactivation…

A noninvasive brain stimulation technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) doesn’t seem to ease fatigue in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) when given at home with computer-based cognitive training, according to one of the largest studies of its kind. While the home-based intervention was deemed feasible, combining daily…

A statistical model that takes clinical and demographic factors into account could help guide treatment decisions in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who haven’t yet started on a multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy, a study reports. “Our study offers a predictive tool that fulfills an unmet need for…

Over the past decade, diagnoses of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Finland have become faster and treatments now follow the latest evidence, with about five times as many patients receiving high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as first-line options, a study finds. Drawing on registry data, researchers found that diagnoses are…

Tiziana Life Sciences is partnering with a contract development and manufacturing organization with expertise in intranasal drugs to accelerate the development and commercial launch of foralumab, a treatment designed to be sprayed into the nose. Tiziana’s medication is being investigated in an expanded access program (EAP) and a…

Antibodies against a protein found in neurons and in nerve supporting cells, may play a role in driving multiple sclerosis (MS), a study indicates. Researchers examined immune responses against more than 23,000 human proteins, and the MLC1 protein emerged as one of the top hit proteins targeted by immune…

Interactions between the body’s immune system and bacteria that live in the digestive tract — essentially, a person’s gut — become disrupted in multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study by U.S. researchers found. The human intestines are home to billions of bacteria and other microorganisms, collectively known as the…

Using an implantable scaffold to collect immune cells in mice, researchers have gained insights into the immunological mechanisms driving primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Based on the findings, the scientists developed a treatment strategy to block specific inflammatory molecules, which eased MS severity in the mouse model. The study,…

Four more people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) have received foralumab nasal spray — Tiziana Life Sciences’ therapy candidate for SPMS — via an expanded access program, the biotechnology company announced. That program allows patients who do not qualify for an ongoing Phase 2a clinical…

Using Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a first-line treatment for early-stage relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is significantly better at delaying disease progression than starting with a less effective drug and switching to Ocrevus later. That’s according to nine years of data from the OPERA I (NCT01247324) and…

Switching from anti-CD20 medications to less effective fumarate therapies is linked to reduced healthcare visits and costs related to infections after a year, without affecting the rate of relapses in stable multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s according to an analysis of a U.S. healthcare claims database, which compared switchers against…

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with low educational attainment are more likely to delay the start of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) after a diagnosis than those with a high educational status, a Danish study suggests. Educational status wasn’t significantly associated with diagnostic delays after the onset of symptoms,…

In a new deal, TG Therapeutics will use MaxCyte’s engineering technology to develop and manufacture its off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy candidate azercabtagene zapreleucel — azer-cel for short — for adults with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The experimental treatment is being advanced toward a Phase 1…

Navigating the uncertainty of living with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) brings a number of challenges, a study shows. That uncertainty is best described as the intangible, difficult to define space between hope — the sense that things might get better or at least not turn out so badly —…