March 7, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: ‘Cog Fog,’ Tolebrutinib, Ublituximab, Spinal Atrophy #ACTRIMS2022 ā Cognitive Training Paired With tDCS Aids Patients A treatment to clear “cog fog” would be welcomed by many people with MS. Over 75% of us are troubled by cognitive problems. In this study, adding painless transcranial direct current stimulation to standard cognitive training improved results when compared…
March 4, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Blood NfL Levels May Help Quantify Relapse Severity Measuring levels of the neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein in blood may be a way to “quantify” relapse severity and predict future disability in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). “Higher [blood] NfL levels during periods of active inflammation predicted more [brain] atrophy,” researchers wrote in an abstract titled…
March 3, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Cognitive Training Paired With tDCS Aids Patients Electrically stimulating the brain while doing at-home cognitive training games can help to prevent a decline in cognition for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly those with more advanced disability, a study indicates. “This could lead to a therapy that can remediate cognitive impairment, we just need to optimize”…
March 3, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Tolebrutinib More Potent Than Other BTK Blockers Tolebrutinib, an investigative inhibitor of Brutonās tyrosine kinase (BTK) being developed byĀ SanofiĀ to treat all forms ofĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), shows the potential to be more potent than other BTK inhibitors also in advanced clinical trials, scientists reported. The findings, based on preclinical data, were shared at the Americas…
March 2, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Algorithm Predicts Relapse Risk Using EHR Data Using a two-step machine learning strategy, researchers have developed an algorithm to predict the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse based on data gleaned from electronic health records. “The two-step machine learning model predicts a patient’s future one-year MS relapse risk with clinically actionable accuracy, comparable to other clinical…
March 2, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Hormone Therapies May Benefit Menopausal MS Patients Hormonal changes over time ā and especially those around menopause ā are often associated with disability worsening in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, which suggests that sex-specific hormone therapies may be useful in MS treatment. Burcu Zeydan, MD, assistant professor of neurology and radiology at Mayo Clinic, provided an overview…
March 2, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Ublituximab Eases Brain Lesions Better Than Aubagio The experimental medication ublituximab significantly reduces the number of new brain lesions with severe nerve cell degeneration in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) as compared with Aubagio (teriflunomide), according to new data from the Phase 3 ULTIMATE clinical trials. The findings showed that ublituximab induces a rapid…
March 1, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Cortical Lesions Seen to Predict Disability Worsening A higher burden of lesions in the brain’s cortex is associated with a greater likelihood of disability worsening in multiple sclerosis (MS) and transition to secondary progressive MS (SPMS), researchers report. These results suggest that “monitoring cortical lesion volume … could be useful when stratifying risk of disability…
March 1, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Spinal Cord Atrophy Predicts ‘Silent Progression’ in Early MS A faster rate of atrophy in the spinal cord of people in earlier stages ofĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) is likely to indicate “silent progression” ā worsening disability in the absence of relapses ā and a swifter conversion to secondary progressive MS (SPMS), new data show. Antje Bischof, MD, with…
February 28, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Mavenclad Best at Reducing Relapses: Real-world Data People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are treated with Mavenclad (cladribine) are less likely to experience a disease relapse than those who are treated with Gilenya (fingolimod), Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), or Aubagio (teriflunomide), according to an analysis of real-world data. The findings were presented at the Americas Committee…
February 28, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: aHSCT, Skin Cancer, Spasticity, NfL Blood Test #ACTRIMS2022 ā Immune System āResetā by Stem Cell Transplant At the University of Ottawa, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) has been used to treat people with aggressive MS since the early 2000s, MS News Today‘s Marisa Wexler reports. This study, which reviewed 71 patients during that period, reports…
February 28, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Iron Rim Lesions Linked to More Severe Disease Iron rim lesions, or specific regions of chronic inflammation seen on MRI scans of the brain, are associated with greater disability and poorer outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study indicates. These findings “could support the use of iron rim lesions as an imaging biomarker for disease severity and…
February 28, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā In New Mouse Model, Evobrutinib Shows Efficacy Researchers developed a new mouse model that more closely captures a specific type of inflammation characteristic of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) ā and found, in experiments, that treatment with an oral medicationĀ called evobrutinibĀ can lessen disease activity. This new mouse model may help scientists in MS to better study…
February 25, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Immune System ‘Reset’ by Stem Cell Transplant Undergoing a stem cell transplant, a procedure that aims to “reset” a person’s immune system, can reduce relapse rates and ease disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), new data show. The findings suggest that such a transplant ā fully, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or aHSCT ā is…
February 25, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Blocking Fibulin-2 Protein May Increase Remyelination A matrix protein called fibulin-2, which is increased in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions, blocks the activity of oligodendrocytes, the cells responsible for making myelin. Blocking this protein may be a promising approach to restore myelin in people with the neurodegenerative disease, a study in mice showed. The data was…
February 25, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Paramagnetic Rim Lesions ‘Highly Specific’ Markers of MS Paramagnetic rim lesions, a specific form of inflammatory damage to the brain, are rarely found in people with disorders other than multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study in adults with suspected MS. Its findings suggest that looking at PRLs could be useful for diagnosing the disease. Brain Renner,…
February 24, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Machine Learning Helps Predict Treatment Response in PPMS Machine learning ā using computer algorithms ā can be used to identify people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) who are more likely to respond to treatment, a new study shows. The ability to predict treatment response could allow clinical trials to be designed more efficiently, researchers said. Jean-Pierre…