Fast Forward, a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, will invest up to $330,000 to advance the clinical development of an antibody that was shown to lessen inflammation and nerve cell damage in a multiple sclerosis (MS) mouse model. The funding will help develop the antibody (a protein…

Blocking a molecule that is overly abundant in the nervous system of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and has been linked to nerve cell damage in animals, worked to significantly ease inflammation, demyelination, and neurodegeneration in mouse models  of secondary progressive MS (SPMS), a study reports. Treatment…

A new subtype of multiple sclerosis (MS) — called myelocortical MS (MCMS) — is characterized by cortical neuronal loss, but not by loss of myelin in the brain’s white matter, according to a study. Research on this new type of MS was presented today at the 34th congress of…

Apolipoprotein D (Apo D), a brain-produced carrier of fat molecules, seems to have a neuroprotective role and helps in the regrowth of myelin during multiple sclerosis (MS), a finding that may help develop new therapeutic approaches to fight the disease, new research shows.

Researchers have identified a new subtype of multiple sclerosis (MS), one marked by nerve cell degeneration that occurs independently of immune system attacks against myelin, a process known as demyelination and considered a hallmark of MS. The new subtype — called myelocortical MS — is indistinguishable from others in the…

Subtle changes in myelin, the protective layer of nerve fibers, may be an early event in multiple sclerosis (MS) prior to the inflammatory reaction, a new University of Calgary study shows. The study, “Biochemically altered myelin triggers autoimmune demyelination,” was published in the journal Proceedings…

Inhibiting an oxidative stress enzyme reduced nerve cell damage and promoted the formation of new nerve cells, a multiple sclerosis study in mice showed. It also helped regenerate cells that produce the nerve cell-protecting myelin sheath, researchers said. The team used a mouse model of the progressive form of MS in…

Clene Nanomedicine says its pre-clinical studies demonstrate the remyelination effects of CNM-Au8, supporting its potential to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating disorders. Clene presented its data in a session, “Nanocrystalline Gold As a Novel Remyelination Therapeutic for Multiple Sclerosis,” that took place at the third annual Americas…

Inhibiting a protein found at high levels in immune cells located in the brain can rejuvenate myelin, the protective coating around nerve cells, according to a multiple sclerosis study in mice. Blocking the protein, known as the colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor, or CSF1R, can also prevent the immune cells from…

People with a demyelinating disease associated with antibodies against a myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), most often develop episodes of optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve) that can be treated with corticosteroids, according to data presented today at the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting from Oct. 25-28 in Paris. MOG antibody-associated demyelination is a…

Sometimes walking, even with an assistance device, can be very challenging because of the extreme muscle weakness that I experience. The slow, off-balanced gait that has been my constant companion for many years prior to my 2010 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis is definitely on the decline. Accepting the…

A substance that the pancreas secretes can promote the regeneration of the protective nerve-cell coating that is damaged in multiple sclerosis, a mouse study shows. The substance is fibroblast growth factor 21, or FGF21. It promotes remyelination, the renewal of the myelin sheath protecting the central nervous system, according to the…

A herpes virus that lies dormant in many people can hinder the repair of the neuron-protecting myelin sheath whose deterioration causes multiple sclerosis, a study reports. The finding about the HHV-6 virus may help explain differences in the symptoms and progression of the disease from person to person, researchers said.

A substance called fluorosamine was seen to boost remyelination in mice by preventing the synthesis of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans and by promoting oligodendrocyte function. The findings showed that targeting molecules that block remyelination may be a promising therapeutic approach in multiple sclerosis (MS). Upregulation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans — large molecules…

Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti, chair of the Department of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic and the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Professor of Neurosciences, has received the 2016 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research, an honor jointly awarded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Academy of Neurology…

TNF-α blocking drugs, such as infliximab, surprised investigators when their use in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) actually triggered demyelination. In a case report published in the journal Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers reviewed an aggressive demyelinating event in a non-MS patient treated with TNF-α blockers. TNF-α blockers…

Novoron Bioscience, Inc., a biotech company focused on developing therapies for disorders of the central nervous system, recently announced that it has received a $680,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to assess the potential of a new therapeutic approach to induce remyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is…

In a new study entitled “LINGO-1 antibody ameliorates myelin impairment and spatial memory deficits in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice”, a team of scientists report that the loss of myelin in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients’ brains contributes to their cognitive impairment. They showed that inhibiting protein LINGO-1 can…