November 1, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS African American MS patients have high B-cell levels in CSF, study says People with multiple sclerosis (MS) of African descent had higher levels of inflammatory B-cells in the fluid around the brain and spinal cord compared with white MS patients in a small U.S. study. These findings may help to explain why Black people with MS tend to experience a faster…
May 25, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Ocrevus reduces B-cells’ diversity, but not T-cells’, in relapsing MS Long-term treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) doesn’t change the diversity of T-cells ā those needed to mount effective immune responses against foreign pathogens ā in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a small study shows. Consistent with its mechanism of B-cell depletion, however, Ocrevus did reduce the molecular…
August 29, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD TRE-515 Appears to Block Immune Cell Attacks in Mouse Study An experimental oral therapy called TRE-515 significantly reduced disease severity and the growth of the abnormal immune cells that drive multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) in two mouse models of the disease, a study found. Notably, the efficacy of Trethera Corp.ās potential treatment, administered either in a preventive or therapeutic…
August 22, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Oral Therapy TRE-515 Wins Orphan Drug Status for Optic Neuritis in US The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Trethera Corporationās experimental oral therapy TRE-515 for demyelinating optic neuritis, an eye condition that may progress to multiple sclerosis (MS) or occur during the disease course. The first-in-class therapy is expected to lessen the inflammation…
May 16, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS With Rituximab, B-cell Counts Predict COVID-19 Vaccine Response Among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on rituximab, higher B-cell counts are predictive of a better antibody-based response to a vaccine for COVID-19, according to a new Swedish study. “In our study, the B-cell level in patients given Rituximab was the only factor that influenced the ability to form antibodies…
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…
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…
January 25, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Study Explains How Epstein-Barr Virus Infection Could Cause MS Similarities between an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) protein and a brainĀ protein called GlialCAM may explain why EBV infection increases the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), results from a new study show. Due to the structural resemblance of the two proteins, B-cells ā a type of immune cell that is critical…
October 7, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD 1 Year of Ocrevus Not Linked to Higher Risk of Brain Infection PML One year of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) treatment does not increase the risk for a rare brain infection ā called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) ā in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The study, āRisk Assessment of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy in Multiple Sclerosis Patients during…
September 30, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD #ECTRIMS2021 – ATA188 Benefits in SPMS, PPMS Hint at Remyelination An investigational immunotherapy, ATA188Ā showed it could reverse disability and improve exercise capacity in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), Atara Biotherapeutics, its developer, reported in an update on a Phase 1 trial and its long-term extension study. EMBOLD trial findings based on MRI brain imaging…
July 15, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Anti-CD20 Antibodies Reduce Myelin Loss in MS Rats Treatment with anti-CD20 antibodies reduced the loss of myelin and improved the survival of neurons in a rat model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. The findings imply that B-cells ā the immune cells that are killed by anti-CD20 antibodies ā play a central role in the…
April 29, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM ā Exploring Mavenclad’s Effects on Immune Cells Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News TodayĀ team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, held April 17ā22. GoĀ hereĀ to read stories from the conference. After starting treatment with the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Mavenclad (cladribine), some types of immune cells are more affected…
April 20, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #AANAM ā Blacks, Whites Respond Differently to B-cell Targeting Therapies Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News TodayĀ team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17ā22. GoĀ 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 26, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Rituximab Fails to Lessen Brain Inflammation in Progressive MS Trial Injecting rituximab ā a cancer therapy sometimes used inĀ multiple sclerosis ā into the spinal canal of people with progressive forms of MS did not demonstrably lower inflammation or improve clinical conditions, according to the results of a small trial. “Contrary to the initial high expectations, no clear-cut effect on…
January 19, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Ocrevus Targets Pro-inflammatory T-cells, Not Just B-cells, in PPMS, Study Finds In addition to significantly reducing subsets of B-cells ā its main immune cell target ā Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) lessens pro-inflammatory immune T-cells in people with primary progressiveĀ multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a small study shows. Notably, the suppression of immune cell subsets thought to be involved in the abnormal immune responses…
December 14, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Ublituximab Superior to Aubagio at Lowering Relapse Rates, Phase 3 Data Show Ublituximab, an investigational anti-CD20 antibody, outperformed Aubagio (teriflunomide) in lowering the frequency of relapses among people with active, relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to top-line data from the Phase 3 ULTIMATE trials. Full results, including data on safety and secondary goals, are expected to be presented…
November 25, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Gut Immune Cells That Travel to Brain May Help Resolve MS Disease Relapses A particular type of gut microbiota-reactive immune cells, called IgA-producing B-cells, travels to the brain of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients during relapses, where they produce anti-inflammatory molecules, a study shows. The underlying mechanisms of this event and these cellsā role in MS remain largely unclear, but these…
October 7, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Rituximab Seen to Affect How B-cells Return After Treatment Stops Rituximab, an investigational B-cell depletion therapy that target CD20 to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS),Ā has significant effects on the characteristics of B-cells that return after treatment is stopped, with cells being less mature yet more activated toward a pro-inflammatory state, a study showed. Treatment also…
September 30, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Rituximab, Ocrevus Linked to Higher Risk of Worse COVID-19 Outcomes The use of certain disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) such asĀ rituximabĀ andĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), which lower the number of a patient’s immune B-cells,Ā may increase the odds of developing a more severeĀ COVID-19 disease course for people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The study, which includes data from the…
September 14, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: COVID-19 Survey, MSVirtual2020, Zeposia, B-cells COVID-19 Pandemic Had Minimal Emotional Impact in Progressive MS Patients, Survey Finds I beg to differ. I have secondary progressive MS, and COVID-19 has bummed me out. I haven’t been in an exercise room since May. My wife and I haven’t had a meal in a restaurant since late…
September 11, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Roche Launches Phase 3 Clinical Program to Test Fenebrutinib Roche has launched a Phase 3 clinical trial program to evaluate fenebrutinib, its investigational oral BTK inhibitor, in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS). Data on fenebrutinibās potency and selectivity, as well as the design of the clinical…
September 8, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – ATA188 Safe, Early Efficacy Seen in Progressive MS Trial ATA188, Atara Biotherapeuticsā investigative T-cell immunotherapy, is safe, well tolerated, and able to ease disability and improve exercise capacity in patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to one-year data from a Phase 1 trial and its long-term extension study. Findings also showed that, after…
September 3, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Targeting B-cells in Cerebrospinal Fluid May Lead to More Effective MS Therapies, Study Suggests Immune B-cellsĀ are more abundant and have a pro-inflammatory profile in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, Ā compared to blood in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study reports. The results suggest that therapeutic strategies targeting the CSF B-cells could constitute a…
August 26, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Infection Risk Higher for Ocrevus Than Rituximab, But Cancer Risk Lower Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a second-generation anti-CD20 antibody, may be associated with a greater risk of infections. But it carries a lower risk of cancer and immune reactions than first-generation rituximab inĀ people with multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), according to a real-life study. The higher incidence of infections linked with Ocrevus’…
August 21, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Ocrevus Cancels RRMS Patient’s Immunity to Chickenpox Virus, Case Study Finds Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) eliminated the immunity, acquired through vaccination, to the varicella-zoster virus ā the virus that causes chickenpoxĀ and shingles ā in a man with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a case study reported.Ā …
July 13, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Epstein-Barr Link, Cannabis Study, Relapses and Disability B-Cells Infected by Epstein-Barr Virus Linked to MS Relapse Risk in Study I usually steer clear of mouse studies. Mice lie and monkeys exaggerate, some researchers say. But this is another piece to add to the growing pile of evidence that there’s a great big link between multiple sclerosis…
July 9, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD B-Cells Infected by Epstein-Barr Virus Linked to MS Relapse Risk in Study Immune B-cellsĀ that proliferate unchecked when infected by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) appear to increase the risk of relapses in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a mouse study suggests. The study, āEpstein Barr virusāimmortalized B lymphocytes exacerbate experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in xenograft mice,ā was published…
June 19, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD 1st Progressive MS Patient Enrolls in Phase 1b Study of Cell Therapy ATA188 Atara Biotherapeutics has enrolled a first patient in a clinical trialĀ testingĀ ATA188, its off-the-shelf T-cell immunotherapy for people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The Phase 1b trial (NCT03283826) follows promising safety and tolerability results from its open-label Phase 1a part, including a…
June 19, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD Immune B-cell Subsets Correlate with MS Progression, Study Finds Australian scientists have discovered subsets of immune cells that differ between people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) and those who donāt. Because the prevalence of these cells correlates with autoimmune attacks, they represent potential targets for MS therapies. The study, āIgG3Ā +Ā B…
May 29, 2020 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Cell Therapy ATA188 Safely Easing Disability in Progressive MS, Trial Reports Atara Biotherapeutics‘ cell-based therapy ATA188 is safe and well-tolerated in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and induces a sustained reduction in disability in a dose-dependent manner, findings from the first part of a Phase 1 clinical trial show. ATA188 had an…