Top 10 MS news stories of 2024
Most-read stories focused on living with MS, news on disease risk factors
The team at Multiple Sclerosis News Today has brought our audience the latest news about treatments, scientific research, and clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS) throughout 2024.
Here is a list of the top 10 most-read articles we published this year. We look forward to continuing to serve the MS community in the years to come as a source for news and information.
No. 10 – Criteria for MS diagnosis get a makeover
The McDonald criteria — the official set of guidelines that doctors use to diagnose MS — was revised in 2024. The revisions, made about seven years after the last update, aim to allow for more accurate diagnoses at earlier stages of the disease. Among the changes, the criteria now allow a diagnosis to be made in certain patients who don’t have any disease symptoms but show signs of MS-like damage on brain imaging scans. The criteria also recommend that the optic nerve, which connects the eyes to the brain, be considered as a location for demonstrating that MS-like damage has occurred in different regions of the nervous system.
No. 9 – Some anti-CD20 therapies may not prevent PPMS disability progression
Anti-CD20 therapies such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and rituximab may not stop disability from getting worse in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), according to an analysis of real-world data. Such therapies are often used to treat PPMS, a rare type of MS marked by steady worsening of disability from the disease onset. Ocrevus is the only approved therapy for PPMS, and rituximab is often used off-label for treating the condition. This analysis found, however, that the time to disability worsening wasn’t significantly longer for PPMS patients given these therapies versus no treatment. Other disease outcomes also were similar between the groups, which the study suggests highlights the need to constantly evaluate treatments for people with the neurodegenerative condition.
No. 8 – High doses of vitamin D may delay a person’s progression to MS
A clinical trial found that taking high-dose vitamin D supplements may delay new disease activity in people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) — those who experienced one attack of MS-like symptoms and brain damage but don’t yet meet the criteria for MS itself. The trial specifically tested supplements in people with CIS who had low levels of vitamin D. The results indicated that patients given high-dose vitamin D were significantly less likely to experience disease activity, particularly in the form of new or enlarging lesions and inflammatory lesions, after two years. No differences were observed for relapses.
No. 7 – FDA gives breakthrough designation to myelin-repairing device
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March granted breakthrough device designation to a neurostimulator device that SetPoint Medical is developing to help treat relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). The device aims to slow damage to and promote the repair of the myelin sheath, a fatty covering around nerve fibers that is damaged in MS. After being implanted in the neck through a small incision, the device works by stimulating the vagus nerve, the longest nerve in the body, to trigger an anti-inflammatory response. Breakthrough designation aims to speed the development of devices designed to treat serious diseases.
No. 6 – Experimental oral therapy shows promise for myelin repair
PIPE-307, an investigational oral therapy from Contineum Therapeutics, was found to promote myelin repair as intended in a mouse model of MS. The therapy is designed to promote the differentiation of immature oligodendrocyte precursor cells into mature oligodendrocytes able to produce and repair myelin. The results of the preclinical study also indicated that the treatment led to less disability in the mice. The company is now running a Phase 2 clinical trial to test two doses of PIPE-307 in people with RRMS.
No. 5 – Myelin-repairing treatments advance toward clinical testing, per updates
Two experimental therapies that aim to repair the myelin sheath have shown promise in preclinical models and are moving toward testing in people, according to updates shared at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis Forum 2024. The two therapies, CVL-1001 and CVL-2001, aim to promote myelin repair by promoting the differentiation of oligodendrocytes, although they do so via different mechanisms. Both are being developed by Convelo Therapeutics, and each has shown the ability to repair myelin and ease disease severity in mouse models of MS.
No. 4 – Ancient DNA may explain higher rates of MS in some world regions
Researchers found that genetic variants that increase the risk of MS first appeared among groups of animal-herding people in Eastern Europe thousands of years ago, then spread across the continent. Their findings suggest that these herding people may have been prone to mutations that increased immune activity, which helped keep them safe from animal-borne infections. However, as the human immune system no longer has to deal with those infections due to striking improvements in sanitation over the centuries, these mutations may now increase the risk of autoimmune diseases such as MS. The data may help explain why people in some parts of the world today are more prone to developing MS.
No. 3 – Long-term benefits seen with Mavenclad in relapsing MS trial
Use of the approved therapy Mavenclad (cladribine) — given as a short treatment course, consisting of up to 20 therapy days spanning two years — led to low rates of disability progression after several years in a clinical trial in people with relapsing MS. The Phase 3 trial and its extension study tested Mavenclad in more than 200 people with highly active, relapsing MS. The results showed that most participants hadn’t experienced any worsening of disability after four years in the studies. Disease activity was also markedly reduced, while cognitive function was stable or improved for most participants.
No. 2 – Obesity medications may lower risk of developing MS
An analysis of real-world data found that medications approved to promote weight loss may reduce the risk of developing MS. The study used data from the FDA’s side effects database to determine if these medications were associated with fewer MS-related adverse events, which would suggest they could reduce the risk of MS. Per the results, some specific weight loss medications were associated with a greater than 80% reduced likelihood of developing MS. Drugs that work by activating a protein called GLP-1 showed particular promise.
No. 1 – MS Awareness Month highlighted MS experiences to raise awareness
MS Awareness Month is observed every March. This year, the event focused on highlighting how MS affects daily life for people living with the disease, as well as the importance of social connections. To mark the month, and MS Awareness Week, MS-focused groups launched a range of initiatives aiming to spread awareness and share stories from those in the MS community. Multiple Sclerosis News Today ran a series that highlighted the experiences of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers impacted by MS.
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We hope these stories, and all our reporting at Multiple Sclerosis News Today, have provided helpful information for the MS community in 2024. We look forward to continuing to be a resource for news happening in the MS community in 2025, and we wish all of our readers a happy new year!
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