MRI scans of the brain acquired early on after the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) may help predict disease severity and disability accumulation after 10 years, a new study found. In particular, there were two MRI biomarkers — inter-caudate diameter (ICD) and third ventricular width (TVW) — detected…

Within the first 12 years after the onset of symptoms, about one-fourth of people with clinically isolated syndrome — or a first episode of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms — showed a worsening of disability independent of relapses, a study reports. This type of disease progression, called progression independent…

A data-driven algorithm may be useful for defining the sometimes unclear transition from relapsing-remitting (RRMS) to secondary progressive (SPMS) forms of multiple sclerosis, a study found. The study, “Towards a validated definition of the clinical transition to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: A study from the Italian MS Register,”…

Smoking is associated with lower brain volume, more brain lesions, and greater disability and attention deficits among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) after 10 years, according to a study in Norway. “The findings imply that patients should be advised and offered aid in smoking cessation shortly after diagnosis, to…

Treatment with Ponvory (ponesimod) significantly reduces the risk of worsening disability or new relapses for people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with a placebo, according to a new analysis funded by the therapy’s maker Janssen. The study, “Comparative Efficacy of Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Therapies:…

Disability appears to mostly accumulate in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a progressive manner — rather than being due to relapses, a pooled analysis of patients in two Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) clinical trials shows. These findings, indicating that disease progression underlies relapsing MS as well,…