News

There is a sizable gap between advancements in treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and their regulatory approval, which is a circumstance that necessitates increased  advocacy on a global scale. This concern was a major topic of conversation recently at the XXIV World Congress of Neurology (WCN 2019)…

MMJ International Holdings announced that it has entered into an agreement for the production of its proprietary cannabis-based gel capsule — a product mix of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) — in compliance with guidelines set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Pregnancy does not lead to long-term changes in the disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. This work, which emphasizes the importance of careful data analysis, supports studies disputing previous beliefs that pregnancy worsened or lessened the long-term disease course of MS. The findings were presented by Mar Tintore,…

Stopping the migration of immune B-cells through the blood-brain barrier by blocking ALCAM, a molecule linked to the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), lessened disease severity in an MS mouse model, a new study shows. Details of the discovery were reported…

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics received a $495,330 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society  to support biomarker studies in its ongoing clinical trial testing the cell therapy NurOwn in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). NurOwn is a treatment based on the patients’ own bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem…

A large retrospective study suggests that a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) marker — called “brain atrophied T2 lesion volume” — could help predict the timing of multiple sclerosis (MS) progression. According to the study, this marker was the only MRI parameter capable of predicting disease progression, compared with other…

Novartis’s Mayzent (siponimod) has been approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), making it the first therapy to be approved for this use in Australia. SPMS is a form of MS that develops after the onset of…

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) issued an opinion supporting Mayzent (siponimod) as an oral treatment specifically for adults with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) in the European Union. Opinions released by CHMP, an arm of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), carry weight and are…

Three academic research institutions launched the Weill Neurohub initiative, an effort to speed the discovery and development of therapies for neurological diseases that include multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and for psychiatric disorders like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. The initiative unites three West Coast…

Depression and fatigue have a more powerful influence on the overall health-related quality of life, compared to physical impairment, among patients with multiple sclerosis, a new study shows. The study, “Contributing factors to health‐related quality of life in multiple sclerosis,” was published in the journal Brain and…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has criticized Biogen for the $88,000 yearly list price it placed on Vumerity (diroximel fumarate), the newly approved oral disease-modifying treatment (DMT) for relapsing multiple sclerosis. That criticism extends to repeated price increases with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), Biogen’s similar oral DMT for…

With the help of 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), investigators discovered that leptomeningeal enhancement — a radiographic finding indicative of brain inflammation — is more common than previously thought in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and is tied to lesions in specific regions of the brain.

A single dose of CD45-ADC, an investigational targeted therapy being developed to treat different types of autoimmune diseases, is enough to reset the normal function of the body’s immune system in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), and to delay onset of the disease. Those findings…

The cannabis sativa plant extract Sativex is a cost-effective therapy for spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) and can be offered to patients in England needing it on at least a monthlong trial basis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said in issuing a final…

Long-term treatment with interferon beta (IFN-beta) corrects the defective immune balance characteristic of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study has found. The study also identified more than 200 genes with significantly different activity between complete and partial responders to IFN-beta treatment, which could be used to identify which…

Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection) is more effective for treating flares in multiple sclerosis (MS) than other alternatives, including intravenous immunoglobulin or plasmapheresis, a claims-based study from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals reports. The study “Treatment Effectiveness for Resolution of Multiple Sclerosis…

A 30-year study of outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients reports that radiological findings in the first year of disease onset, and the amount of disability evident at five years, helps to predict both the likelihood of a person advancing to secondary progressive MS (SPMS) and long-term survival. The study,…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have poorer neurite density — a measure that relates to the amount of nerve cell projections, including axons and dendrites involved in nerve-to-nerve communication — in the brain and spinal cord than do those without this disease, a study shows. This measure, especially…

Newly launched, the Soothie Cushion is designed to provide seating comfort and help regulate the body temperature of travelers with disabilities, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and myasthenia gravis, says its official retailer, Special Needs Group/Special Needs at Sea (SNG). The product is said to offer enduring comfort…

Two potassium ion channels located at gaps between segments of myelin are required for high frequency and high-speed conduction of electrical impulses along myelin-rich nerves, a study shows. Loss of the workings of these potassium channels in what are called the nodes of Ranvier slowed nerve conduction, and impaired the sensory response of a rat. These findings suggest that similar problems with these channels may exist in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study “TREK-1 and TRAAK Are Principal K+ Channels at the Nodes of Ranvier for Rapid Action Potential Conduction on Mammalian Myelinated Afferent Nerves” was published in the journal Neuron. Myelin, the fat-rich substance that wraps around nerve fibers (axons), works to insulate and increase the velocity of the signals relayed by nerve cells. Gaps between segments of myelin, or nodes of Ranvier, also work to amplify these signals. Nerve impulses must travel and arrive at relay points extremely quickly for effective connection and communication between brain regions. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) showed for the first time that the nodes of Ranvier have potassium channels that allow the myelinated nerves to propagate nerve impulses at very high frequencies, and with high conduction speeds. This is key for fast transmission of sensations and rapid muscle control in mammals. The nodes of Ranvier were first discovered in 1878 by the French scientist Louis-Antoine Ranvier. Later research, dating from 1939, showed that they work as relay stations placed along myelinated nerves — about 1 millimeter apart — for proper conduction of nerve impulses at rates of 50 to 200 meters per second. Between these nodes, the nerve is wrapped in myelin. When the nerve fires, the electrical impulse travels along the nerve (called action potential) from one node to the other at a speed 100 times faster than that of impulses in nerves lacking myelin. Neuroscientists know that ions crossing the membrane of nerve cells are required to fire electrical impulses along nerves, but whether potassium ion channels were present in the nodes of Ranvier remained a matter of debate. No one had been able to use patch clamps — a technique that allows recording of whole-cell or single-ion channel currents flowing across membranes — to the nodes of the small intact nerves in mammals. UAB researchers led by Jianguo Gu, PhD, worked with a rat and identified two ion channels, called TREK-1 and TRAAK, as the main potassium channels in the nodes of Ranvier of the rat’s myelinated nerve. Most importantly, they showed these ion channels allow high-speed and high frequency conduction of nerve impulses along the myelinated afferent nerves — those carrying information from the sensory organs (like the eyes or skin) to the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). TREK-1 and TRAAK channels were highly enriched — 3,000 times higher — at the nodes of Ranvier in afferent nerves than in the nerve cell’s body. When the scientists removed (knocked down) these channels, conduction speed in the rat's nerve dropped by 50 percent, and the rat's "aversion reaction" to its whisker being flicked was slower. "TREK-1 and TRAAK are clustered at nodes of Ranvier of myelinated afferent nerves," the researchers concluded, and "suppressing these channels retards nerve conduction and impairs sensory functions." Increasing evidence shows that dysfunction in the nodes of Ranvier are present in neurological diseases, including MS. Whether autoantibodies (antibodies that attack the body’s own tissues) target the TREK-1 and TRAAK to affect nerve conduction, leading to sensory and motor problems such as those seen in MS, remains to be investigated, Gu said in a UAB news release written by Jeff Hansen.

Pharmascience recently launched pms-Fingolimod, a generic version of Novartis’ Gilenya (fingolimod), to treat adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in Canada. The new generic is now available in that country, and has demonstrated efficacy and safety similar to Gilenya. Generic medicines are chemically identical to the original branded therapy, but carry a…

Siemens Healthineers has signed a license and supply agreement with Quanterix that helps it in developing blood tests for neurofilament light chain (NfL) to aid in early disease detection, evidence of progression, and measuring treatment response in people with neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Siemens Healthineers…

A specific mutation in the FOXP3 gene, one already linked to multiple sclerosis in the Iranian population, was now also seen to increase the risk of MS in Brazilian women, a study reports. This mutation is also associated with higher-than-normal levels of TGF-β1, an anti-inflammatory molecule, a finding that requires…

A new public-private initiative brings academic and industry researchers from 15 European countries together in a large-scale effort to understand differences and commonalities in seven immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis, so to better predict a patient’s likely response to treatment and likely disease progression. The project, called 3TR…

Employed individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have lower work productivity, reduced health-related quality of life, and use more healthcare resources than individuals who do not have multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. The study, “Burden of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis on workers in the US: a cross-sectional…

Seven months after starting a safety review of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), the Pharmacovigilance Risk…

Teva Canada announced that Teva-Fingolimod 0.5 mg capsules, a bioequivalent generic version of Novartis’ Gilenya (fingolimod), are now available in Canada and approved by the country’s national health system called Health Canada. Generic medicines are chemically identical to the original branded therapy, but carry a significantly lower cost. Canadian…

Mutations in genes related to the immune system’s first line of defense are associated with a greater likelihood of more severe forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) linked to faster vision loss, a team led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report. Combining high-resolution eye scans and genetic tests,…

A new study shows that 40% of patients in Italy and Germany who have  secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) are not aware of their diagnosis, indicating a need for significant improvement in patient-physician communication.

Interferon therapy (brand names Avonex, Betaseron, and others) is more effective than glatiramer acetate (sold as Copaxone, Glatopa and other generics) for reducing relapses…