XRHealth has raised $7 million to expand its telehealth platform, with the goal of providing clinicians and patients with virtual and augmented reality therapy. The funding will also increase access to virtual support groups for people with multiple sclerosis and other diseases. Telehealth broadly refers to the…

Shorter Ocrevus Infusion Time Up for Approval in US and Europe One of the drawbacks to infusion therapies is the time a patient spends in a recliner receiving the medication. For Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), nearly half a day is required for the infusion itself. Add on pre-infusion care and post-infusion…

The investigational, oral BTK inhibitor SAR442168 can limit the number of new inflammatory brain lesions in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), results from a Phase 2b clinical trial show. “The results of this study give hope that SAR442168 may become an important…

A subset of monocytes (a type of immune cells) that can infiltrate the central nervous system and drive nerve cell damage in multiple sclerosis (MS) may be a better target for preventing disease progression than the cells of the immune system that are currently targeted with MS therapies,…

People with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who began treatment with Mayzent early and continued its use for years are less likely to experience disability progression than those starting the medication later in their disease course, five-year data from the EXPAND study suggest. Data from this same Phase 3…

Scientists have built a map of the toxic immune cells that contribute to neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS). Their findings may open the door to the development of new medications that protect the brain from the effects brought on by these harmful immune cells. Results were reported in the study,…

Treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) could make people with multiple sclerosis (MS) more vulnerable to the parasitic infection known as cryptosporidiosis, a case report suggests. The report, “Cryptosporidiosis after treatment with fingolimod: a case report and pharmacovigilance review,” was published in the jorunal BMC Infectious Diseases. Gilenya…

The small variants seen in the DNA code among individuals may affect the ability of oligodendrocytes to produce myelin, the protective coat surrounding neurons and whose destruction is a hallmark of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reported. These findings open the possibility of new therapeutic options that target the…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Atara Biotherapeutics has temporarily paused patient enrollment in the second and randomized part of its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial investigating ATA188 in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). People treated in the first, open-label part of this trial, however,…

Regular Exercise ‘Strongly Recommended’ to Ease Fatigue in MS This may seem like a no-brainer. But once upon a time, neurologists told people with MS to avoid exercise. They told us it would overheat us or make us tired. Over the past few years, this advice has flipped 180…

EHP-101, a cannabidiol-derived investigational therapy being developed by Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals (EHP) to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), is not a controlled substance in Canada, the company announced. The active ingredient in EHP-101 is a derivative of cannabidiol, abbreviated CBD. This is one of the most well-known active compounds in…

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended Zeposia (ozanimod) oral capsules to be approved in the European Union (EU) to treat adults with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Opinions released by CHMP, an arm of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), are generally accepted by the European Commission,…

Using a mix of broad diagnostic terms and more disease-specific ones may help physicians and patients to better communicate symptoms of autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS) that are not always obvious or easy to explain, a study reported. The study, “Using autoimmune strategically: Diagnostic lumping, splitting,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zeposia (ozanimod) oral capsules to treat adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), including relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS),  active secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, when it will arrive in clinics…

Continuous production of fatty molecules (lipids) is crucial to the maintenance of the myelin sheath that wraps nerve fibers to protect them, ensuring the transmission of electrical impulses between nerve cells, a study reported. These findings may have strong implications for treating disorders caused by myelin loss, including…

I’m starting this week by linking to our Coronavirus COVID-19 Information section on the Multiple Sclerosis News Today Forums. My fellow moderator, John Connor, and I have been posting information there from our news writers and columnists about the evolving situation. Have You Tested Positive for Coronavirus…

Janssen has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking for ponesimod to be approved as an oral treatment for adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Ponesimod, formerly ACT-128800, is an experimental treatment that targets the protein sphingosine-1-phosphate…

With March being Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, I got to thinking: What have I done — or what do I do — to raise MS awareness? I’ll count some ways to fly the orange flag. Maybe you’ll find inspiration. Communications I’m a writer, so obviously I use my skill…

Older age, a greater number of health conditions, and prior hospital admissions are associated with more hospitalizations due to all causes among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, MS-related hospitalizations decrease as patients age, and are less frequent among women, according to a study analyzing more than two decades…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the post, “…

Starting treatment with a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) reduces blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — a potential biomarker of disease progression and activity — to varying degrees depending on the therapy used, according to a large real-world study of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The findings support…

What science has told us about how diet might influence a person’s risk of multiple sclerosis and a patient’s disease course was the topic of discussion at a recent MS conference. Ellen Mowry, MD, a researcher and professor of neurology at John Hopkins, also reviewed some of the dietary…

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…

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…

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…

In this column, I’ll be highlighting some of the research presented at this year’s Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, held last week in West Palm Beach, Florida. #ACTRIMS2020 — Remyelination in Adult Animal Brains Possible via Cell Transplant, Study Says You’ll need…

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…

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…

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…