I’ve been trying to improve my health through lifestyle changes, which I hope will have a positive effect on my multiple sclerosis (MS). In an earlier column, I discussed my struggles to eat a healthy diet. An update: I now eat more fish (not just salmon) and vegetables.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ocrevus Zunovo (ocrelizumab and hyaluronidase-ocsq), a subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), for treating adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). The approval covers all the same indications as the original medication, including relapsing forms of MS — namely…
Neufit is encouraging people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to register for its upcoming MS Bootcamp, a three-day event that will showcase the company’s Neufit method for an intensive, specialized rehabilitation experience and connect patients to experts and a supportive community. The event will take place Nov. 8-10, at…
The pharmaceutical company Médunik Canada and Population Council, a nonprofit research organization, are teaming up to investigate the potential use of segesterone acetate, a derivative of the hormone progesterone, as a multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy. The compound is expected to promote the restoration of myelin, the…
One of the courses I helped teach in between overseas tours was U.S. Army Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat. While urban combat is governed by official doctrine, it is not composed of any definite rules because there are too many variables. Instead, there is a set of guiding…
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) has updated its Pathways to Cures Roadmap to account for recent scientific advances in the search for a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). The details were provided in the report, “The refined Pathways to Cures Research Roadmap for…
For students, it’s back-to-school season with the recent start of the fall semester. I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis at a young age, so I’ve carried this disease with me throughout my high school, undergraduate, and graduate education. I often struggled to juggle my healthcare and course…
A clinical trial is evaluating whether combining a cognitive rehabilitation program with a virtual reality (VR)-based aerobic exercise regimen will improve learning and memory in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and motor disability. Researchers expect the approach will show cognitive benefits via positive effects on a brain region called…
A patient advocate shares how sudden vision loss in high school led to an unexpected MS diagnosis, profoundly shaping their resilience and deepening their commitment to supporting and guiding others through similar challenges.
Having antibodies against the rubella virus is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in unvaccinated people, a Swedish study suggests. The findings show a rubella infection may be a risk factor for MS, reinforcing the hypothesis that certain viral infections may trigger the misleading immune…
A year of treatment with the experimental BTK inhibitor fenebrutinib was safe and nearly entirely suppressed signs of disease activity, including relapses, disability progression, and brain lesions, in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from the open-label extension part of a Phase…
Treatment with rituximab, a CD20 inhibitor used off-label for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, can stabilize disability progression and reduce disease activity in people with secondary progressive MS (SPMS), according to a review of several published studies. These benefits were reported over a mean follow-up of two years, and…
Age is just a number, right? Most of the time, I don’t mind getting older, but it does occasionally bother me. One scenario is when I have to swipe more than three times to find my birth year on a website. Another is when a song I grew up with…
Treatment with the investigational BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib significantly delayed the onset of confirmed disability progression in people with nonrelapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) compared with a placebo, meeting the primary goal of the HERCULES Phase 3 trial. A preliminary analysis of liver safety was consistent with previous…
Transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS), wherein mild electrical impulses are applied to the tibial nerve located near the ankle, may help with sexual dysfunction related to multiple sclerosis (MS) in both men and women, a study suggests. The study, “Tibial nerve stimulation in the management of primary sexual…
Because of the emotional and mental toll that my relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis diagnosis had on me, I wanted a cat to help me cope with and navigate life with the condition. I knew having a pet would improve my mood and give me a reason to get out of…
I’ve noticed over the past three years that I choke more frequently. I did a little internet investigating and believe it may be associated with my multiple sclerosis (MS). I was surprised by that, as most of my MS symptoms are in my extremities. I hadn’t thought about…
As all good things must come to an end, so did our epic overseas adventure in a recreational vehicle that was too tiny to live in and too big to drive into any European village. We devoted those five weeks to quality time with family, unplugging from devices, and…
Researchers uncovered a mechanism by which regulatory T-cells (Tregs), immune cells that keep the immune system in check and prevent its overactivity, become dysfunctional in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune conditions. Tregs from MS patients exhibited increased levels of a protein called PRDM1-S that ultimately caused…
I’ve been afraid many times during my life, but I’ve almost always managed to get past the fear. One fear I haven’t gotten past comes with being handed a newborn child for the first time. Every birth might as well be twins: One nurse should hand you your child while…
Rituximab, which is sometimes used off-label for multiple sclerosis (MS), doubles the risk of hospital-treated infections, but may prevent worsening disability better than some approved disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a Swedish study finds. Hospital-treated infections were significantly associated with a higher risk of relapse-independent disability worsening among relapsing-remitting…
Glial cells, which mostly support the function of nerve cells, play key roles in multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression and development, according to a stem cell-based study. “Most research and therapeutic strategies have so far focused on blocking the overactive immune system, but how cells in the brain itself,…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are about half as likely as those without the disease to have signs of the amyloid-beta plaques in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study in the U.S. “Our findings imply that some component of the biology…
Two weeks ago, I was notified that one of the lesions on my brain has grown. This led me and my care team to decide it was time to switch multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments. Soon after I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2017,…
Obesity promotes molecular signatures associated with more inflammation and multiple sclerosis (MS) signaling pathways specifically in females, which may explain the link between obesity and a higher risk of MS in women. These are the findings of a new study analyzing data not only from obese and non-obese women…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to Immpact Bio to conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial to test IMPT-514, its experimental cell therapy, in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). With the investigational new drug (IND) clearance by the FDA, Immpact Bio now…
Just before my last deployment, I remember sitting in a classroom with other Army Special Forces medics, listening to the representative from a supplier of chest injury dressings. It was common practice for suppliers to send someone to talk about or demonstrate their product as part of the contract.
Abata Therapeutics has received an investment from Bristol Myers Squibb to support the development of its experimental regulatory T-cell (Treg) therapies for severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The new equity investment from the global biopharmaceutical company follows last week’s green light from…
A potential treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been patented in the European Union based on findings in preclinical studies. Notice of an intent to grant patent EP18722530, titled “Method for treating relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis using arsenic trioxide,” was given by the European Patent…
A Phase 1 clinical trial that’s testing IMP761, an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune conditions, has dosed its first healthy participant, the therapy’s developer has announced. Immutep received regulatory clearance to start the first-in-human trial of IMP761 in the Netherlands about a…
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