News

The Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (FCMSC) has received a $100,000 donation from EMD Serono, known as Merck Kgaa outside North America, to honor the foundation’s late CEO June Halper by supporting a nursing scholarship fund in her memory. Halper was a former nurse practitioner…

Plasma exchange (PLEX) therapy is effective for severe relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who respond inadequately to standard corticosteroid therapy, according to a new study conducted in Serbia. Better outcomes were seen in younger patients and in those with low disability scores at the time of…

A sublingual formulation of cladribine, which is the active ingredient of the approved oral treatment Mavenclad, in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), showed comparable pharmacological properties to its name-brand counterpart. That’s according to preclinical data announced by BioNxt Solutions, the formulation’s developer, in a company press release.

Anti-CD20 therapies like Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and rituximab appear to be ineffective at slowing disability progression in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a form of the disease characterized by symptoms that steadily worsen over time, according to data from a real-world study in France. The study,…

Cionic has partnered with Lovell Government Services, a veteran-owned business, to expand veterans’ access to its Neural Sleeve, a leg-worn device to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions that affect mobility. The lightweight garment is approved in the U.S. for use…

The MS Society of Canada is hosting its annual MS Read-a-Thon, a fundraiser where children are encouraged to read for a month to support people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in their community. Funds raised will help boost the organization’s support programs for patients and research into a…

Acupuncture may be a promising complementary approach for easing fatigue and improving quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a small review study and meta-analysis. Still, the study highlighted a need for future clinical trials that use more standardized acupuncture approaches, according to the researchers,…

Poltreg will receive a patent in China that covers the administration of its cell-based therapy PTG-007 for multiple sclerosis (MS) via an injection into the spinal canal, or intrathecally. The method showed superior benefits compared with PTG-007’s intravenous infusion into the bloodstream in a Phase 1b/2a study of people…

A revised version of the McDonald criteria, a set of guidelines used to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS), is expected to include additional features that will help doctors make an accurate diagnosis at an earlier stage of the disease, even if patients have yet to manifest clinical symptoms. The…

Daily treatment with high-dose simvastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering medication, failed to slow disability progression in adults with secondary progressive disease or SPMS, according to top-line data from a Phase 3 clinical study. Jeremy Chataway, PhD, a professor of neurology at University College London (UCL) in the U.K.,…

Sanofi’s tolebrutinib significantly delayed disability progression, by 31%, and increased the rates of disability improvement compared with a placebo in people with nonrelapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), according to new data from the HERCULES Phase 3 clinical trial. The investigational BTK inhibitor also was found to significantly…

Taking high-dose cholecalciferol (vitamin D) as a supplement is safe and can nearly double the time it takes for people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), a first manifestation of neurological symptoms suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS), to experience new disease activity. That’s according to data from D-Lay-MS…

Continuous treatment with Briumvi (ublituximab) over five years was associated with low rates of relapses and confirmed disability progression among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to analyses from the open-label extension (OLE) phase of the treatment’s ULTIMATE Phase 3 trials. Relative to patients who…

A short course of treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine) can provide long-term reductions in disease activity and disability progression for as long as four years in adults with highly active, relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from the MAGNIFY-MS studies. The majority of patients had…

An online education program called “Eating Well with MS” improved the dietary behavior of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), and was deemed in a study to be practical to complete, interesting, and valuable for patients. “Our study completion rates highlight the practicality of the intervention,” the researchers evaluating the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ocrevus Zunovo (ocrelizumab and hyaluronidase-ocsq), a subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), for treating adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). The approval covers all the same indications as the original medication, including relapsing forms of MS — namely…

Neufit is encouraging people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to register for its upcoming MS Bootcamp, a three-day event that will showcase the company’s Neufit method for an intensive, specialized rehabilitation experience and connect patients to experts and a supportive community. The event will take place Nov. 8-10, at…

The pharmaceutical company Médunik Canada and Population Council, a nonprofit research organization, are teaming up to investigate the potential use of segesterone acetate, a derivative of the hormone progesterone, as a multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy. The compound is expected to promote the restoration of myelin, the…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) has updated its Pathways to Cures Roadmap to account for recent scientific advances in the search for a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). The details were provided in the report, “The refined Pathways to Cures Research Roadmap for…

A clinical trial is evaluating whether combining a cognitive rehabilitation program with a virtual reality (VR)-based aerobic exercise regimen will improve learning and memory in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and motor disability. Researchers expect the approach will show cognitive benefits via positive effects on a brain region called…

Having antibodies against the rubella virus is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in unvaccinated people, a Swedish study suggests. The findings show a rubella infection may be a risk factor for MS, reinforcing the hypothesis that certain viral infections may trigger the misleading immune…

A year of treatment with the experimental BTK inhibitor fenebrutinib was safe and nearly entirely suppressed signs of disease activity, including relapses, disability progression, and brain lesions, in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from the open-label extension part of a Phase…

Treatment with rituximab, a CD20 inhibitor used off-label for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, can stabilize disability progression and reduce disease activity in people with secondary progressive MS (SPMS), according to a review of several published studies. These benefits were reported over a mean follow-up of two years, and…

Treatment with the investigational BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib significantly delayed the onset of confirmed disability progression in people with nonrelapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) compared with a placebo, meeting the primary goal of the HERCULES Phase 3 trial. A preliminary analysis of liver safety was consistent with previous…

Transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS), wherein mild electrical impulses are applied to the tibial nerve located near the ankle, may help with sexual dysfunction related to multiple sclerosis (MS) in both men and women, a study suggests. The study, “Tibial nerve stimulation in the management of primary sexual…

Researchers uncovered a mechanism by which regulatory T-cells (Tregs), immune cells that keep the immune system in check and prevent its overactivity, become dysfunctional in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune conditions. Tregs from MS patients exhibited increased levels of a protein called PRDM1-S that ultimately caused…

Rituximab, which is sometimes used off-label for multiple sclerosis (MS), doubles the risk of hospital-treated infections, but may prevent worsening disability better than some approved disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a Swedish study finds. Hospital-treated infections were significantly associated with a higher risk of relapse-independent disability worsening among relapsing-remitting…

Glial cells, which mostly support the function of nerve cells, play key roles in multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression and development, according to a stem cell-based study. “Most research and therapeutic strategies have so far focused on blocking the overactive immune system, but how cells in the brain itself,…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are about half as likely as those without the disease to have signs of the amyloid-beta plaques in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study in the U.S. “Our findings imply that some component of the biology…

Obesity promotes molecular signatures associated with more inflammation and multiple sclerosis (MS) signaling pathways specifically in females, which may explain the link between obesity and a higher risk of MS in women. These are the findings of a new study analyzing data not only from obese and non-obese women…