Early Detection of Pseudobulbar Affect May Help Ease MS Symptom I often see posts on social media from people with MS asking if crying for no reason is an MS symptom, because it happens to them. I didn’t know that apparently, it is. Laughing, too. This report says…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) had over 90% treatment compliance — the percentage of doses administered — over one year, according to a study of data collected by the BETACONNECT autoinjector and the myBETAapp. After one year, the number of patients still using Betaseron…

More than half of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with self-injectable therapies — namely, glatiramer acetate, marketed as Copaxone, among others, or any of a host of interferons — showed no evidence of disease activity after two years, according to a study out of Turkey. Among patients treated for…

New or worsening headaches are a more common side effect of interferon-beta (IFN-beta) treatment in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) than previously appreciated, a new study suggests. The study, “Interferon-Beta-Induced Headache in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Frequency and Characterization,” was published in the Journal of Pain Research.

It probably comes as no surprise to you that the costs of some of the most popular MS medications have been soaring. A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh reports that their list prices have more than quadrupled in a decade. And out-of-pocket costs rose even more.

Treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) with beta-interferon therapies is associated with extended patient survival, particularly if taking such treatments for more than three years, according to a real-world study in Canada and France. The study, “Multiple sclerosis: effect of beta interferon treatment on survival,” was…

Poor sleep quality is very common among patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), and is associated with a lower quality of life, and greater fatigue, depression and anxiety, according to a real-world study in patients treated with Betaferon (interferon beta-1b). The study, “…

I’m agonizing over an important decision and it’s driving me crazy. I’m usually a quick decision-maker, but this one is tough. I have my analytical hat on, trying to look at my choices from a scientific standpoint. Unfortunately, my anxiety kicks in, and my hat…

The newest kids on the MS block, disease-modifying therapies (DMT) such as Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Sanofi Genzyme’s Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), are attracting a lot of interest these days. But, some DMTs that have been around for more than two decades are still being prescribed by a lot of neurologists.

An increase in multiple sclerosis cases in the Middle East and North Africa has prompted Bayer to introduce to the region an injector that patients can use to treat themselves. Researchers have suggested that increases in the region’s cases stem from many people adopting Western lifestyles, including smoking and using sun…

 Novartis' Gilenya and interferon beta-1b-based therapies stop multiple sclerosis patients' cognitive decline, a Phase 4 clinical trial shows. Gilenya (fingolimod) also reduces patients' relapses and the number of their brain lesions — areas where a protein coating that protects nerve cells has deteriorated, researchers found.

Have you ever hit a brick wall trying to self-inject? I have. It was with Avonex, the first DMD that I used. To make a long story short, after a couple of years of poking myself in the thigh muscle, I just couldn’t do it anymore. That’s…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted Bayer’s filing of a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for two products designed to improve the lives of people with multiple sclerosis (MS): myBETAapp and the BETACONNECT Navigator. Bayer created the BETACONNECT system to increase patient treatment compliance and improve…

Relapsing multiple sclerosis patients who begin taking Betaferon/Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) immediately after the first MS-related neurologic symptoms appear may realize slower disease progression than those who delay treatment, according to a study evaluating the therapy’s effects over a decade in patients enrolled in a Phase 3 clinical trial. The study, “The 11-year long-term follow-up…

In addition to a new study sponsored by Genentech to test the experimental MS therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in RMS patients who have had a sub-optimal response to previous disease modifying therapies, the company is also currently recruiting patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis to understand the therapy’s mechanism of action and B-cell biology…

Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) and people diagnosed with the disease at a younger age are more likely to have a benign course of MS, remaining fully functional for decades after disease onset, according to researchers at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in New York. Disease modifying drugs were also found…

Global pharma Bayer Healthcare aims to improve human health by diagnosing, preventing, and treating a variety of diseases. The company currently provides products for general medicine, hematology, neurology, oncology, and women’s healthcare. In 1993, Bayer’s Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) became the first disease-modifying drug to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for…

Bayer HealthCare is pleased to announce the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the approval of BETACONNECT, a first-of-its-kind electronic autoinjector indicated as a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). For now, the drug delivery device is only compatible with BETASERON® (interferon beta-1b), and will soon be available come early 2016.  While…

Bayer HealthCare recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the filing of a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for BETACONNECT for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). BETACONNECT is a new drug delivery option for patients under Bayer’s BETASERON® (interferon beta-1b) therapy. MS is a…