June 24, 2022 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Uncontrolled Hypertension More Likely in Black Americans With MS Black Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a higher chance of having uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension), despite being more likely to receive anti-hypertensive medication than white patients, a large study found. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and…
April 21, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM – Disease Severity, Job Loss Higher in Black Than White Patients in US Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. African Americans with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) are more likely than white patients — despite comparable disease durations and…
April 20, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #AANAM – Blacks, Whites Respond Differently to B-cell Targeting Therapies Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Common B-cell depleting therapies, such as rituximab and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), may result in shorter duration B-cell depleting effects in…
March 3, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2021 – Research Finds Race- and Ethnicity-based Differences in MS Therapies Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. Clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, including their response to therapies, vary based on race and ethnicity,…
November 22, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Black and Hispanic RRMS Patients Show High Levels of Immune Cells Linked to Antibodies, US Study Reports African-Americans and Hispanics with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have higher blood levels of plasmablasts, a type of inflammatory immune cell that produces antibodies, than do Caucasians with this disease, a study found. The study “Black African and Latino/a identity correlates with increased plasmablasts in MS” was published in the journal…
January 7, 2019 News by Alice Melão, MSc More Effort Needed to Recruit Minorities to Phase 3 Clinical Trials, MS Expert Says Because multiple sclerosis (MS) presentation and progression course can be very different between people of African ancestry and Caucasians, the recruitment of minorities to Phase 3 clinical trials is of particular importance. Researchers in the MS field and the general MS community should make a greater effort to improve…
April 30, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye This Week: aHSCT Studies, MS Progression in African-Americans, Gilenya for Pediatrics #AAN2018 – Stem Cell Transplant is Effective Treatment for ‘Aggressive’ MS, Study Shows I like the fact that a study shows that stem cell transplant treatment is effective for aggressive MS. I love the fact that the efficacy was dramatic, reducing the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) levels…
April 26, 2018 News by Alice Melão, MSc #AAN2018 – MS Progresses Quickly in African-Americans and May Warrant Aggressive Treatment Multiple sclerosis in African-Americans progresses much faster than in Caucasian patients, new research reports, suggesting that blacks would benefit from a more aggressive treatment approach. Led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual meeting taking place in Los Angeles through…
February 3, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Study into Genetic Origins of Disease Seeks African-American Participants Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF) are asking African-Americans with multiple sclerosis, as well as family members, to participate in new studies into the genetic origins of the disease. The studies will investigate both people of African ancestry with MS, who are known to have low susceptibility for the disease, and those of Northern European descent,…
