News

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is marking Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week, March 8-14, by sharing patients’ stories and encouraging participation in fundraising and advocacy efforts. Each year, a week is set aside to heighten awareness of multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurodegenerative disorder that affects nearly 1 million people in…

Janssen has submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) asking that ponesimod be approved as an oral treatment for adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) in the European Union. Ponesimod (formerly ACT-128800) is an experimental treatment that targets the sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor…

In recognition of Rare Disease Day Feb. 29, Bionews Services launched a social media campaign last month asking patients to describe what makes them rare. Running Feb. 7–29, the #WhatMakesMeRare campaign was aimed at uplifting people with rare diseases by encouraging them to share their stories and perspectives. The…

Treatment for two months with N-acetylcysteine, or NAC — a natural molecule that enhances the levels of antioxidants — significantly improved metabolic activity in certain brain regions among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a small clinical study reports. This increase in metabolic activity was accompanied by improvements…

Modulating the bacteria that reside in the gut by treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with probiotics, fecal transplants, or gut-related microRNAs may help to ease inflammation and disease severity, researchers with Brigham and Women’s Hospital suggest. Howard Weiner, MD, a group leader at the hospital, presented his team’s findings on…

A signaling molecule of the immune system called interleukin 13 (IL-13) may modulate the function of key immune cells involved in multiple sclerosis (MS), and their migration through the barrier that protects the brain and spinal cord. IL-13 is an “attractive molecule” and a potential avenue for treating MS,…

Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals’ investigational cannabidiol-derived EHP-101 continues to show potential to ease inflammation and myelin loss (demyelination) — a hallmark of multiple sclerosis (MS) — according to data from healthy volunteers and a mouse model of MS. The data support the advance of EHP-101’s clinical development into…

Ozanimod — an investigational oral therapy up for approval to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) — lowers the number of white blood cells circulating in the blood, supporting its ability to ease inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. But this treatment also does not affect all…

CorTechs Labs presented new data indicating that machine learning models based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain may aid in the early diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Company representatives, joined by other experts, also released updated recommendations for a standardized…

Using a patient-friendly autoinjector pen to take monthly doses of ofatumumab — an investigational B-cell therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) — is bioequivalent to delivering it via a prefilled syringe, and would allow self-administration of the treatment at home, a study shows. Equal effects…

Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection) leads to significant improvements after two months of use in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) still having acute relapses despite treatment, and who failed to respond to other high-dose corticosteroids, topline data from an observational study show. The gel’s developer, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, also…

A protein called dedicator of cytokinesis 8 (DOCK8) is key for the development and expansion of self-reactive immune T-cells that wrongly attack myelin, a study in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) found. DOCK8 drives the migration and stimulating capacity of dendritic cells — immune cells that ‘teach’…

High-dose vitamin D supplements appear to aggravate inflammation and myelin loss in the brain and spinal cord, and worsen the disability associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study in a mouse disease model reported. Excessive use of vitamin D causes calcium levels to…

Clene Nanomedicine shared early results of the VISIONARY-MS trial, suggesting that CNM-Au8 —  an investigational remyelinating therapy — leads to “notable” trends in better vision, as well as benefits in mobility and manual function in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with chronic vision problems.

Transplanting human glial progenitor cells (GPCs) — brain cells able to generate myelin-producing cells — effectively led to remyelination in the brains of adult mice with myelin disorders, a study found. These results were presented at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2020, running…

Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have never given birth and those who began menopause prematurely tend to develop progressive forms of the disease earlier, a study from the Mayo Clinic suggests. These findings were presented at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with depression are more likely to have worsening neurological function compared with those who do not have the mood disorder, results from a real-world study show. The findings were presented Feb. 27 by Jenny Feng, MD, in an oral presentation — titled “…

NeurologyLive, a multimedia platform for specialists in that field, partnered with the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) for its recent video series on changes in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol and guidelines for treating and managing multiple sclerosis (MS). This “Peer Exchange” panel discussion includes four specialists in neurology…

Immune system cells can either trigger or suppress inflammation by controlling mitochondrial respiration — the process that occurs in mitochondria, the cells’ powerhouses, and results in the production of usable energy by cells — according to a recent study. This discovery raises the possibility that…

The likelihood of discontinuing treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) is higher among patients with progressive relapsing multiple sclerosis, and those who smoke and are depressed, a study reported. Progressive relapsing MS (PRMS) is now largely considered a subset of primary progressive MS, or PPMS marked by periods…

Anavex Life Sciences‘ investigational therapy Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine) showed an ability to protect, repair, and induce the formation of oligodendrocytes — the cells that produce the protective myelin layer around neurons — in early cell testing, researchers reported. These findings, which further establish the therapy’s potential as a treatment…

Immune cells from patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) respond differently to Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) based on age, gender, and serum blood glucose levels, a study found.  The results suggest these patient-specific factors can modulate the response of immune cells, and should be…

Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will review Novartis‘ applications seeking regulatory approval of ofatumumab, an investigational B-cell therapy for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults. Novartis’ applications for ofatumumab — which has the…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients switching from Tysabri (natalizumab) to other disease-modifying therapies may have an increased risk of disease activity, though the risk is lower if the switch is limited to three months, a study found. The results were published in an article, “Effect of…

AB Science‘s masitinib significantly slowed disability progression in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and non-active secondary progressive MS (SPMS) at a lower dose of 4.5 mg/kg a day, top-line results from a Phase 2b/3 clinical trial show. Masitinib, formerly known as AB1010, is an oral…

The Spanish version of the modified Story Memory Technique improves learning and life satisfaction of Mexican patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests.  The tool, developed by the Kessler Foundation, has the potential to address the lack of cognitive rehabilitation interventions that are culturally…

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval to Flowonix Medical’s Prometra II Programmable Pump System for use with intrathecal baclofen for the treatment of spasticity across numerous conditions, including multiple sclerosis. Intrathecal baclofen — sold as Gablofen by Piramal, Lioresal by…

Specific mutations in genes that provide instructions to make two proteins —  called C3 and C1q — are linked to increased severity of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new research. The new finding will be presented by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researcher Peter Calabresi, MD, during…

A bone marrow transplant can remove the majority of overactive immune T cells from the central nervous system (CNS) in patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), allowing the body to replace them with healthy ones, a study has found. This opens up new treatment avenues to…

Pheno Therapeutics, a spin-off from the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, will search for new molecules capable of inducing the body to repair or replace the myelin sheath that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS). In MS, the body’s own immune system mistakes…