February 24, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Enrollment Complete in Phase 2 Trial Testing Temelimab GeNeuroĀ has completed patient enrollment in its ProTEct-MS Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating temelimab as a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), the company announced. The study (NCT04480307), taking place at the Karolinska Institutetās Academic Specialist Center (ASC) in Stockholm, Sweden, has enrolled 42 people with relapsing MS whose…
February 18, 2021 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD New Zealand Expands Patient Access to Funded MS Treatments New Zealand will expand patient access to a list of funded treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), starting on March 1. The government health agency, PHARMAC, will extend eligibility criteria to include MS patients with expanded disability status scale (EDSS) scores ranging from zero to six. EDSS is a validated…
February 9, 2021 Columns by Jessie Ace How Players Present and Perceive Disability on ‘The Circle’ āOpen Circle Chat!āĀ Have you seen the reality TV series “The Circle”? It was first shown in the U.K. on Channel 4, and thereās now a U.S. version on Netflix. It is well worth a watch.Ā I started watching it because of the psychological…
February 8, 2021 News by Forest Ray PhD New Spinal Cord Lesions Can Be Evident in Stable MS Patients Asymptomatic damage to spinal nerves occurs even in clinically stable cases of multiple sclerosis (MS) and carries an increased risk for further lesions, a recent study suggests. Although a firm link between the asymptomatic loss of myelin in the spine and worsening disability remains to be found, this work…
January 27, 2021 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS Age Found to Be Main Driver of MS Disability, Patient Therapy Response Age is a main driver of disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) and has a key influence on patients’ therapeutic responses to Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) and Tysabri (natalizumab), a study showed. Given those findings, age should be considered in the risk/benefit assessment that’s used in the decision-making process for…
January 19, 2021 News by Forest Ray PhD Brain Changes in Relapsing MS Found to Follow Pattern Changes in the amount of grey matter in specific regions of the brain appear to occur early in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), while structural changes in white matter happen late in disease progression. These were among the findings of a recent study that tracked the sequence of events in…
January 8, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Study: Past Long-term DMT Use Tapers Risk of Current MS Progression Long-term use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) has a beneficial cumulative effect compared to shorter treatments, delaying the development of irreversible disability and conversion to secondary progressive MS (SPMS), a recent study…
January 5, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Myelin Ceramides Altered in MS, Study Finds Levels of myelin sheath components called ceramides are altered in the blood of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and may be linked with retinal degeneration and physical disability, a study has found.Ā Specific ceramides were altered only in those with progressive…
January 4, 2021 News by Aisha I Abdullah PhD Mentally Overestimating Motor Tasks May Cause Cognitive Fatigue in MS People with multiple sclerosis (MS) tend to mentally overestimate the time required to complete a short walking activity, causing cognitive fatigue that may affect their quality of life, a study reports. The connection between cognitive fatigue and imagined motor exercises may offer a potential…
December 10, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Children With MS Recover Better From Relapses Than Adults, Study Suggests Despite having more severe first and second relapses, children with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) tend to recover better than adults with the disease, according to a study. Better recovery in children may be linked to the activation of genes that, in turn, impair the activation of immune cells driving…
December 8, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Adolescents With MS Have Lower Levels of Physical Fitness, Study Reports Adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) have lower levels of fitness compared with healthy teenagers of the same age and a sex, a study suggests. Findings also demonstrated that among younger MS patients, higher levels of fitness were associated with lower disease activity and disability. The study āYouth with…
December 4, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Review Study Examines Factors That Affect MS Patients’ Quality of Life Disability, fatigue, depression, cognitive impairment, and unemployment are primary risk factors for a poor quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent review study. Conversely, higher self-esteem, self-efficacy, resilience, and social support were identified as protective factors for quality of life (QoL).
December 3, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Chronic Lesion Expansion in RRMS Contributes to Disease Progression, Study Reveals The expansion of chronic white matter lesions in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) determined the increase in total lesion volume and significantly contributed to disease progression, a study has revealed. The study, āExpansion of chronic…
November 30, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Fewer Pregnancies, Premature Menopause Linked to Early Onset of Progressive MS Women who have never given birth are more likely to develop early onset of progressive multiple sclerosis, according to a new study, which also found that a woman’s number of pregnancies showed a positive effect in delaying the disease. In addition, entering menopause earlier, before the age of 46,…
November 18, 2020 News by Aisha I Abdullah PhD Disease Progression Differs More Across MS Type Than Sex of Patients, Study Finds Marked differences in disease characteristics are observed between male and female patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) but they are more pronounced when comparing patients across clinical subtypes, a new study finds. The analysis found that although women are more prone to…
November 9, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Monitoring Fluctuations in Brain Volume May Help Track RRMS Disease Progression The brain volume of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) undergoes a dynamic cycle of enlargement and contractions, a new study shows. Patients with a lower volume (contractions) had less severe MS and a shorter disease duration, the study found. Overall, these findings suggest that frequent monitoring of the…
October 29, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MD1003 Fails to Prevent Disability Progression in Progressive MS Patients, Trial Shows MD1003, MedDay Pharmaceuticalsā high-dose biotin therapy, failed to significantly improve functional ability or walking speed in people with non-active progressiveĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a Phase 3 clinical trial. Besides failing to meet the trialās goals, the therapy was associated with inaccurate results in…
October 26, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Biogen Discontinues Development of Opicinumab for MS BiogenĀ is discontinuing the clinical development of opicinumab,Ā its experimental treatment candidate forĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), based on data from the Phase 2 AFFINITY clinical trial. The announcement, amid a third-quarter report, indicated that the study failed to meet both its main and secondary goals, without further details. The trial,…
October 14, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD Aubagio’s Long-term Benefits Not Influenced by Prior Treatments, Review Finds Prior treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) does not affect the long-term benefits of Aubagio (teriflunomide) in treating relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review study. The study, “Prior treatment status: impact on the efficacy and safety of teriflunomide in multiple sclerosis,”…
September 16, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – 13-year Data Find Tecfidera Safe, Reduces RRMS Relapses Long-term treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) continues to be safe and effective at reducing the frequency of relapses and disability progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS), according to 13-year data from a Phase 3 extension study. The study findings were presented at MSVirtual2020 by Ralf…
September 16, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Long-term Aubagio Use Seen to Lower Relapse Risk for Children Continuous treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) can safely lower the risk of relapses and disability progression in children with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to interim data from the open-label extension of a Phase 3 trial. These findings were detailed at MSVirtual2020 by Tanuja Chitnis, MD,…
September 14, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 ā Low Rituximab Doses Are Safer, as Effective as Higher Ones Low doses of rituximab, an anti-inflammatory medication used off-label to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), are safer and as effective as higher doses at reducing the frequency of relapses and the number of MS lesions, a clinical study shows. The study findings were presented at MSVirtual2020 by Luciana…
September 11, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – GeNeuro’s Temelimab Found Safe When Given Alongside Rituximab Temelimab, GeNeuroās investigative treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), showed a favorable safety profile when given alongside rituximab, according to preclinical safety experiments performed in preparation for the companyās new Phase 2 trial involving patients with relapsing MS. Data from the preclinical experiments, along with details of…
September 10, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Ponesimod Superior to Aubagio in Delaying Disability Progression in Relapsing MS, Trial Data Show Janssen Pharmaceuticalsā investigational oral therapy ponesimod is superior to Sanofiās Aubagio (teriflunomide) in delaying disability progression in adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to exploratory analyses of OPTIMUM clinical trial data. These and other findings from Janssenās MS research program, including on the health…
September 3, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #MSVirtual2020 ā Zeposia Still Prevents Relapses in Relapsing MS Patients After 3 Years, Trial Data Show Zeposia (ozanimod) oral capsules continue to safely and effectively prevent relapses and disability progression in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to three-year data from a Phase 3 extension clinical trial. āGaining insight into long-term therapeutic outcomes can enable clinicians to identify the most appropriate…
August 25, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Children with MS May Have More Relapses, But They Recover More Fully Children withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) recover more quickly and “significantly better” from relapses than do adults ā patients with disease onset at age 18 or older, researchers reported. The study, āImproved relapse recovery in paediatric compared to adult multiple sclerosis,ā was published in the journal Brain. Relapses and…
July 29, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD CHI3L1 Protein Levels May Mark Neurologic Disability in PPMS, Study Suggests Levels of a protein linked to inflammation and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā called chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) ā may prove to be a cerebrospinal fluidĀ biomarker of neurologic disability in primary progressive MS (PPMS), a pilot study suggests. Higher CHI3L1 levels at PPMS diagnosis showed a…
July 27, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Tysabri in Long-term Use Seen to Lessen Relapses, Stabilize Disease Tysabri (natalizumab) is effective at reducing the frequency of relapses in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and is rarely associated with poor clinical outcomes, a real-life and multiyear observational study reports. The study, āLong-term effect of natalizumab in patients with RRMS: TYSTEN…
July 21, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Retina Thickness Can Be Used to Identify MS Patients with Progressive Disease, Study Suggests The thickness of two layers of nerve cells forming the back of the eye, or retina, can be used to distinguish patients with progressing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) from those with stable disease, a study suggests. The study, āMacular ganglion cellāinner plexiform layer…
July 21, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Tysabri Use Can Lessen Disability in RRMS Patients, Real-world Study Reports Treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) can lessen disability in people withĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS), a large and real-world study found, supporting “confirmed disability improvement” reported in a pivotal clinical trial. Nearly one-quarter of the 5, 384 patients enrolled, particularly those new to treatment, experienced a decrease of at least one…