MS PATHS, a way of capturing data on disease progression and treatment response in thousands of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients being treated at any of 10 participating clinics, has among its goals that of making clinical remission — a prolonged absence of any disease activity — possible, said an…

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels higher than a proposed threshold have a higher risk of disease activity, and worsened disability, lesions and brain shrinkage in the long term, according to a new study. The research, “Serum neurofilament light (NfL)…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may experience severe disease exacerbation after switching from Novartis’ Gilenya (fingolimod) to Sanofi Genzyme’s Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), a case report suggests. This unexpected high disease activity raises questions about managing MS through the consecutive use of immunotherapies. The case report, “Unexpected high multiple…

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of neurofilament light chain, a protein associated with nerve cell damage, can predict disease progression in people with clinical isolated syndrome (CIS) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a Swedish study found. Higher levels…

Shortening the washout period to four weeks when switching from Biogen’s Tysabri to Novartis’ Gilenya is safe and reduces the chances of experiencing a disease flare in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a small Swiss study found. A four-week washout reduced the risk of having a disease relapse or an increase in disease activity, compared with an eight-week washout period, for two years after switching from Tysabri to Gilenya. Although Tysabri effectively slows worsening of MS symptoms and the appearance of disease flares, its use is under a strict risk management plan as it heightens the risk of developing a rare and life-threatening brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, also known as PML. Some patients may switch to Gilenya, an alternative disease-modifying therapy for RRMS. Gilenya has been associated with a lower risk of PML infection and seen to reduce relapses, disability worsening, and the appearance of new brain lesions on clinical trials. It also is the only therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for children with MS as young as 10. When switching from Tysabri to Gilenya, it is important to consider the washout period, which is the period when the patient is taken off medications. If too long, it may lead to disease reactivation, which can be even stronger than before starting Tysabri. There is little evidence about the optimal length of washout periods, but a Phase 3 trial showed that an eight-week washout between Tysabri and Gilenya was beneficial compared with longer washouts of 12 or 16 weeks. The eight-week washout enabled more RRMS patients to become free from relapses and lowered disease activity. To study if a shorter washout period of four weeks further reduced the risk of MS reactivation, researchers conducted an open-label, observational study at the University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland. The study enrolled 25 RRMS patients who were appointed to switch from Tysabri to Gilenya. Participants were assigned to either a four-week or an eight-week washout period, and were followed for two years after switching to Gilenya. Although patients were older in the four-week washout group, disease activity and disability scoreswere not significantly different between groups at the beginning of the study. Relapses, disability scores, and disease activity on magnetic resonance imaging scans were recorded at baseline and weeks 8, 12, 16, 20 32, 56, and 108. In the first year (week 56) the proportion of patients with disease flare-ups or disease activity on MRI was not significantly different between the two washout groups, affecting 55.6% and 62.5% of the patients who had a four-week and an eight-week washout, respectively. However, at the end of the two-year follow-up (week 108), recurrent event analysis showed that patients who were on the four-week washout group were 77% less likely to experience relapses. The combined risk for relapse or disease activity on MRI also was 58% lower in the four-week group, compared with those who had an eight-week washout. In addition, researchers found that patients who had flares more frequently in the year before discontinuing Tysabri also had a nearly four times higher risk of experiencing relapses in the first year after switching to Gilenya. This suggests that the number of relapses before switching from Tysabri can predict disease reactivation once on other disease-modifying therapies. Both washout periods were deemed safe, with no serious adverse side effects or cases of opportunistic infections, including PML, being reported. Researchers emphasized, however, that the findings need to be confirmed in larger studies.

Cognitive impairment is common among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and can be assessed through touchscreen cognitive tests in clinical care, a British study reports. The study “Investigating Domain-Specific Cognitive Impairment Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis Using Touchscreen Cognitive Testing in Routine Clinical Care” was published in the…

An additional analysis of data from the CLARITY study confirmed the long-term benefits of treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine tablets) for patients with highly active relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The post-hoc analysis, “Efficacy of Cladribine Tablets in high disease activity subgroups of patients…

Continuous treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) or switching from Rebif (interferon beta-1a) to Ocrevus leads to a significant long-term reduction in relapsing multiple sclerosis activity, a two-year extension study shows. Ocrevus’s maker, Genentech, drew the results from an open-label extension of the Phase 3 OPERA trials. Researchers will present the findings at…

Novartis‘ siponimod (BAF312) can reduce blood levels of a biomarker of nerve cell damage in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a Phase 3 clinical trial shows. Researchers will present the latest results of the ongoing trial at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Academy…

Blood levels of the nerve damage marker neurofilament light provide a reliable picture of multiple sclerosis activity in both the relapsing-remitting and progressive forms of the disease, a Swedish study reports. The University of Gothenburg researchers also discovered a close link between its levels in blood and spinal fluid. This means the…

A blood test may someday replace some of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans taken by people with multiple sclerosis (MS)  — offering an easy, cheap alternative for monitoring disease activity. A study by Norway’s University of Bergen found that blood levels of a factor called neurofilament light chain, released…

Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) can be a suitable replacement therapy when Tysabri (natalizumab) is discontinued, keeping low levels of disease activity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a report published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness and…

People with multiple sclerosis have high levels of pro-inflammatory TH17 immune cells in their intestines that correlate with change in the micro-organism mix in their gut and the levels of their disease activity, a study reports. Researchers said the findings suggest that diet, probiotics and therapies that regulate TH17 cells could help treat MS. Probiotics are supplements containing beneficial bacteria. The study, “High frequency of intestinal TH17 cells correlates with microbiota alterations and disease activity in multiple sclerosis,” was published in the journal Science. Research has shown that TH17 cells, also known as T helper 17 cells, play a role in the development of MS. In fact, they were the first harmful immune T-cells to infiltrate the central nervous system, according to studies in animals Where TH17 cells become activated has been unclear, however. Studies in mice suggested it was mainly in the small intestine. Research has also indicated that their activation increases the potential for a person to develop an autoimmune brain disease like multiple sclerosis. An autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system, which defends the body against disease, decides that a person's healthy cells are foreign, and attacks those cells. Researchers decided to see if the findings in mouse models of MS applied to people with the disease. They discovered a link between higher levels of TH17 cells in MS patients' intestines and autoimmune brain problems. They also found a correlation between higher levels of TH17 cells and changes in patients' gut microbiome. The team then identified which bacteria were changing in the gut. Patients with increased levels of TH17 cells and higher disease activity had a higher ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes bacteria and more Streptococcus strains in their gut, particularly Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus oralis. Previous studies have shown that these species promote TH17 cell differentiation in humans. Cell differentiation involves a cell transforming from one cell type to another — usually a more specialized type. This dramatically changes a cell's size, shape, metabolic — or fuel-burning — activity, and responsiveness to signals. Some studies have suggested a link between T-cell differentiation and brain autoimmune diseases. “On the basis of our findings, we speculate that, under certain conditions, or because of still unknown virulence factors, these Streptococcus strains can colonize the small intestine and favor TH17 cell differentiation in the human gut mucosa [linings],” researchers wrote. In addition to more Streptococcus bacteria, the team detected lower levels of Prevotella bacteria in MS patients with disease activity than in healthy controls or patients with no disease activity. This decrease may also promote TH17 cell differentiation because “Prevotella is capable of producing the anti-inflammatory metabolite propionate that limits intestinal TH17 cell expansion in mice," the researchers wrote. Overall, the team concluded that “our data demonstrate that brain autoimmunity is associated with specific microbiota modifications and excessive TH17 cell expansion in the human intestine.” The findings suggest that regulating TH17 cell expansion, along with changes in diet aimed at regulating intestinal linings, could be ways to help treat MS.

Taking Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for two years inhibited magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disease activity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) for more than six years, the CARE-MS I clinical trial extension study found. Researchers presented their study, “Durable Efficacy of Alemtuzumab on MRI Disease Activity Over 6 Years in Treatment-Naive RRMS Patients With…

Older patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) as well as older relapsing patients whose MS has been inactive after five years may safely discontinue their treatments, Canadian researchers at Vancouver’s University of British Columbia argue. Their Sanofi Genzyme-sponsored study, “When Should Disease-Modifying Treatments Be Discontinued in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: An…

At long last, and for the first time in medical history, people with both relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis have reason to celebrate. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Ocrevus (ocrelizumab)  as a disease-modifying therapy for both forms of MS, a chronic autoimmune disease.

Twenty years ago, the idea that B-cell depletion could treat multiple sclerosis would have been greeted with a hearty laugh by any well-respected neurologist or MS researcher — or perhaps a scoff. But times change and research advances. Today, a medicine that gets rid of certain B-cells may be the most powerful drug yet developed against…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who smoke have a significantly worse quality of life than non-smoking MS patients, concludes a new study. Researchers presented the study, “Smokers with MS have greater decrements in quality of life and disability than non-smokers,” at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), an investigational monoclonal antibody, significantly decreases disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and is associated with a higher proportion of patients reaching no evidence of disease activity (NEDA), according to a new analysis. The study, “NEDA analysis by epoch in patients with relapsing multiple…

Switching from Gilenya (fingolimod) to Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) triggers significant and unexpected disease activity in some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published in the scientific journal Neurology Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation.

A newly concluded clinical trial gives scientific evidence of the benefits that a stem cell transplant holds for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who fail to respond to medications — with researchers calling the procedure a reasonable option for those with high disease activity. Five years after the treatment — high-dose immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous hematopoietic cell transplant — further disease…

Siemens Healthineers and Biogen will collaborate to develop new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications that can quantify key markers of multiple sclerosis (MS). “By bringing together the shared expertise of both Siemens Healthineers and Biogen in imaging and neurology, respectively, we seek to develop new measurement tools that…

Health Canada has approved Zinbryta (daclizumab) as a treatment for adults with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), Biogen and AbbVie announced. Zinbryta is a long-acting injection therapy, self-administered monthly, for patients who have had an inadequate response to at least two other MS therapies. “ZINBRYTA™ is the first once-monthly, self-administered treatment…

An indirect comparison of results from randomized clinical trials in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients suggests that Tysabri (natalizumab) is more effective than Gilenya (fingolimod) at reducing disease activity. The study, “The Efficacy of Natalizumab versus Fingolimod for Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review, Indirect…

Results from the ORATORIO trial, exploring Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) for the treatment of primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), showed that the drug stopped disease progression for more than two years in more patients than a placebo. The findings, a highlight at the European Committee for Treatment and Research…

Researchers investigating immune B-cell response to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) found that it may correlate with the amount of brain-specific B-cells in the blood — a marker of multiple sclerosis (MS) — and with higher disease activity. The findings were published in the journal Viruses, in…

PJSC Pharmsynthez, a pharmaceutical company based in Russia, recently announced completed follow-up findings and data analysis from a Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial of its novel therapeutic vaccine Xemys for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Xemys utilizes Xenetic Biosciences patented ImuXen technology. In the open-label, dose-escalating trial, 20 patients…