MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Ocrevus, Probiotics, Floodlight App, Sativex in UK

Trial Will Test Ocrevus on Arm, Hand Function in PPMS

A lot of the focus in MS treatment and clinical trials is placed on walking ability. It seems to me that only recently has attention been paid to above-the-waist disabilities. I know that many people with MS have problems with their hands and arms, so I’m very glad to see a trial like this. I’m disappointed that this trial has an age limit of 65, but I know I’m fighting a tough battle on the age limit issue.

A Phase 3 clinical trial testing the effect of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) on upper limb disability progression in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) is recruiting participants.

The trial, called O’HAND (NCT04035005), expects to enroll approximately 1,000 adults with PPMS, ages 18 to 65, at more than 200 sites around the world. A full list of study sites and contact information is available here.

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August 23, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD

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Probiotics Likely To Be of Help With RRMS, Meta-analysis Finds

More and more research has reported that the bacteria that live in our digestive systems have an impact on our overall health. Regulating this bacteria could be one way to approach MS treatment, and one way to regulate it is to take probiotics. I’ve always pooh-poohed the idea that probiotics could be effective at treating MS, but I guess I may have been wrong. I’m not suggesting you rush out and start taking these supplements, but it certainly couldn’t hurt to discuss it with your neurologist. I’ll be asking mine about it.

Probiotic supplements could ease disability, lessen depression, and improve overall health in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an analysis of four randomized clinical trials.

Physicians working with these patients might recommend “confirmed probiotic supplements” to help manage “MS concerns,” its scientists wrote, while noting that studies into their use were limited.

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Smartphone App Floodlight Found to Reliably Measure MS Data

Floodlight is one of the MS apps I have on my smartphone. I don’t use it regularly, but I do occasionally use its limited testing tools. I’ve found it’s a simple way of tracking how I’m doing mentally and physically.

A smartphone-based app called Floodlight can reliably assess cognition, arm and hand function, and walking abilities in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new analyses.

“Detection of progression onset or worsening is critical to optimally adapt the therapeutic strategy” patients are using to treat the neurodegenerative disease, the researchers noted, adding that “a more frequent estimate of function during daily life routine is likely to have greater value in tracking MS impairment.”

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