There have been plenty of interesting stories on Multiple Sclerosis News Today over the last seven days. Here is my Pick of the Week’s news.
Tremors Linked to MS Poorly Treated with Symptomatic Medication, Study Finds
It will come as no surprise to those of us with MS that disabling tremors, which apparently can affect as many as half of all us, are inadequately treated. This is because of limited therapeutic options and because such tremors are not sufficiently being studied, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported.
Their report, “Symptomatic Management of Multiple Sclerosis-Associated Tremor Among Participants in the NARCOMS Registry,” was published in the International Journal of MS Care.
We patients with MS are faced with a number of disabling symptoms that affect our capacity to do things, and our quality of life. Drugs approved in recent years improve some symptoms, such as gait or emotional responses, but other symptoms are often managed with drugs in an off-label manner, meaning the drug is not approved for such use. The researchers said their study revealed an urgent need for symptomatic treatments of tremors.
Latest Findings on RRMS Oral Therapy Tecfidera (Dimethyl Fumarate) Detailed in New Report
Since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013, Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) seems to be emerging as a first-line treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis – according to Biogen, the company that developed it. That’s good news, if the company’s claims are correct.
In a presentation at the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, the company announced positive results regarding the long-term effectiveness of Tecfidera. It said that newly diagnosed Relapsing MS patients receiving the treatment maintained consistently reduced relapse rates, and that over 50 percent of them exhibited no relapses in six years of treatment. The drug’s long-term safety profile was also supported, the company said.
Of Biogen’s three Phase 3 trials evaluating Tecfidera to treat Relapsing MS, one is continuing as an extension monotherapy study — ENDORSE (NCT00835770) — and will monitor the effectiveness and safety of the therapy through mid-2019.
New MRI Method Has Potential to Map MS Progression and Guide Treatment
A revolutionary development in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research that I find exciting is underway in Canada.