Disease modifying therapies (DMT)

Older age and greater physical disability when starting a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) were linked to worse cognitive function for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients, but cognition remained relatively stable over the next several years, according to a Swedish study. Due to the high rates of DMT switches and…

The use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) does not seem to affect sleep quality or daytime sleepiness in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an Australian study finds. However, patients with a belief that DMT use impacted their sleep tended to have poorer sleep quality and report that the medication…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Neurologists comment on DMTs available for RRMS There are 20 disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) available to treat MS in the…

Treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine), an approved short-course oral therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), significantly reduced patients’ relapse rates and the development of new lesions while keeping disability stable over two years, according to a real-world study in Kuwait. Among patients who completed the two courses…

Neurologists in the U.S. are largely satisfied with current treatment options for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), but opportunities remain for therapies in development, according to a new report by Spherix Global Insights. In the report series, called RealTime Dynamix: Multiple Sclerosis (U.S.), an ongoing survey of healthcare…

The specialty pharmaceutical company Neuraxpharm will be responsible for marketing the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Briumvi (ublituximab) in regions outside the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and certain Asian countries as part of a new collaboration with TG Therapeutics worth $140 million in upfront payments alone. Neuraxpharm is…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Could MS be predicted by an artificial intelligence tool? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to predict…

Infants breastfed by mothers on Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) do not experience more adverse events, hospitalizations, or need more antibiotics for the first 1.5 years than those in the general infant population. That conclusion comes from new analyses of data from COBRA,…

For the first time, multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies have been added to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML), which names those regarded as meeting the most important needs of healthcare systems worldwide. Glatiramer acetate (sold as Copaxone with generics available), Mavenclad (cladribine)…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Are DMTs useful and safe for older MS patients? The MS News Today story “Can elderly MS patients…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with several disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Times, they’ve been a-changing for disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). When I was diagnosed with multiple…

Experiencing disability in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), even without relapses, increases the risk of progression to secondary progressive MS (SPMS), a more severe form of the disease, a large study finds. Starting a disease-modifying therapy early on in the disease may decrease the SPMS…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who take their prescribed disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as recommended have better long-term health outcomes and lower healthcare costs than those who don’t, a U.S. study finds. Adhering to treatment can help reduce relapses, slow disease progression, and reduce the economic burden on both…

A first-of-its-kind study is aiming to determine whether older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) can safely stop taking disease-modifying therapies, also known as disease-modifying agents (DMAs). The project is being led by scientists at the new P-HOPER Center, officially the Population Health Outcomes and Pharmacoepidemiology Education and Research…

With a planned merger in the works, Frequency Therapeutics is no longer advancing its remyelination therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), and instead is exploring “strategic alternatives for the program,” the company has announced. The regenerative medicine company, which had aimed to develop a new approach to treating MS…

Since their launch in the 2010s, the use of oral disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) has increased substantially, while injectable DMTs have become less popular, according to a study based on U.S. commercial health insurance data. “While two injectable therapies known as platform injectables, were once the…

A new formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), given as a 10-minute under-the-skin injection, was comparable to the approved intravenous version of the therapy in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to top-line results from a Phase 3 clinical trial. The medication’s developer, Roche, is planning to submit data from…

Tysabri (natalizumab) is better than five other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) at reducing relapses and preventing disability worsening in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to the findings of a novel simulated clinical trial that directly compared the six treatments. The analysis used mathematical modeling to emulate a clinical trial…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Testing a new MRI contrast agent One concern that some people with MS have when getting an MRI…

Mavenclad (cladribine) is equally as effective as Gilenya (fingolimod) in reducing relapse rates among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with highly active disease, according to a new real-world comparison. Disability worsening and the development of new lesions also were similar between the two patient groups — but…

Outcomes are better for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) initially treated with higher efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) than for those who begin with lower efficacy DMTs and escalate to more effective treatments as the disease progresses, according to a real-world analysis of patient registry data. Findings also…

Aubagio (teriflunomide), an approved therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), works by shifting the balance between activated subsets of nerve-damaging immune cells to those with immunosuppressive traits, a new study reveals. Further studies to understand how changes in immune cell subsets drive Aubagio’s clinical effectiveness will…

Switching from Tysabri (natalizumab) to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) does not appear to increase disease activity in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and stable disease, with most patients continuing to show no relapses or brain imaging findings one year after the transition, a clinical study shows.

Starting treatment with a high-efficacy disease-modifying therapy (DMT), rather than one with lesser efficacy, may reduce the number of times people with multiple sclerosis (MS) switch therapies due to a lack of effectiveness, a study of survey responses from doctors suggests. High-efficacy DMTs often are perceived to have…

Among four antibody-based therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) works best to prevent disability progression and other measures of disease activity in people with PPMS, or primary progressive MS, a review study found. However, the medication is associated with an increased risk of infection, data suggested.

An educational intervention program was found to help improve treatment adherence among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) receiving injectable therapies in a clinical trial in Iran. The program was designed based on the theory of planned behavior — a psychological premise that assumes people act rationally according to their…

Older people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have not experienced disease activity for several years still will benefit from disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) to control the neurodegenerative disorder, a new study found. Data from a first trial assessing whether discontinuation of DMTs among these patients is at least as…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) should generally follow a regular vaccination schedule similar to their healthy peers, with certain adjustments made if they’re on particular disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), according to a group of experts in Europe who devised a set of more than 50 evidence-based guidelines for the…

It’s been three decades since the first treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) was approved. In that time, the field has made substantial advances — including the approval of over two dozen medications — but there’s still a long way to go to improve care for progressive forms of…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) — given by infusion — may work better than certain oral treatments to prevent relapses and disability worsening in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who transition from Tysabri (natalizumab), a new study found. Individuals who switched to Ocrevus also were more likely to stay…