disease progression

Nearly two-thirds of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who underwent a stem cell transplant showed no signs of confirmed disability progression five years later, according to a study tracking MS patients in the U.K. The results were generally better for people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), but nearly half…

Scientists have made significant advances in treating multiple sclerosis (MS) in recent decades, with a number of treatments for the neurodegenerative disease approved or in development. But one issue that’s been more challenging to address, researchers say, is MS quiet progression — when there aren’t new visible lesions…

Older men with multiple sclerosis (MS) who use medicines that reduce the levels of androgens, or male sex hormones, experience sustained or increased disease activity instead of the expected decreases that typically happen with advancing age, a small study suggests. According to the team, such disease activity was “particularly”…

In people with benign relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have minimal disease activity, there is a loss of overall brain tissue but specific parts of the brain may grow to help compensate for the damage, a new study indicates. The study, “AI-driven MRI analysis reveals brain…

Gum disease caused by the bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) is associated with worse multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the disease, a study shows. Infection with Pg directly or indirectly boosted pro-inflammatory pathways in immune cells in the spleen, where they’re produced, thereby aggravating MS. These effects…

Children with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) experience biological aging at a faster rate than children without the disease, a study shows. “We found evidence that children living with MS experience accelerated biological aging,” Jennifer Graves, MD, PhD, senior author of the study at the University of California, San Diego,…

Clemastine fumarate, an antihistamine, boosted disease progression by more than five times in adults with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a Phase 1/2 trial. “Likely nobody in the MS field, us included, knew about this potential [clemastine] toxicity until we collected the data presented here,” the…

Cognitive symptoms, mood disorders, and fatigue manifest differently in relapsing-remitting and progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. “[O]ur results indicate that the subtype of MS is associated with … specific kinds of cognitive deficits, suggesting the need for subtype-specific therapeutic interventions,” the France-based research team…

Factors including being male, smoking, and having more frequent relapses are linked to significantly increased risk of disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a meta-analysis of several published studies. Other variables linked to disease progression included disability score and the use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). “Hence,…

The signaling molecule interleukin-6 (IL-6), which is involved in inflammation, is associated with increasing frailty in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study from researchers in China reported. Elevated levels of IL-6 significantly correlated with higher scores on a frailty index that measures health deficits across multiple domains,…

Treatment with masitinib, an experimental therapy being developed by AB Science for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), reduced markers of nerve damage and inflammation and slowed disease progression in a mouse model of MS. “This study is the first to demonstrate that masitinib can lower serum NfL…

As multiple sclerosis (MS) progresses, the disease may reduce the number of mitochondrial DNA copies, suggesting the number of copies could serve as a biomarker for disease progression and response to treatment. That’s according to a genetic study involving data from thousands of patients of European ancestry. Mitochondria are…

In people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), levels of B-cells can help to predict the risk of progression independent of relapse activity, a new study reports. “Our results unveil a discernible relationship between the degree of B-cell depletion and disease progression in…

Injections of methotrexate into the spinal canal given every three months were safe and well tolerated, and helped adults with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) maintain stable disease levels for up to nine years. That’s according to data from a small, open-label Phase 1 clinical study (NCT02644044)…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who experience progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) tend to have greater damage to major white matter tracts, or bundles of nerve fibers that connect different regions of the brain, a new study reports. The findings offer some insights into the biological processes that…

Wider rims of immune cells surrounding multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions in the brain and spinal cord are associated with faster disease progression, a new study shows. Monitoring this type of lesion may help track MS disease progression and measure how the disease is responding to treatment, and the…

Vidofludimus calcium, an experimental oral therapy from Immunic Therapeutics, reduced the risk of confirmed disability worsening and slowed brain shrinkage in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s according to top-line data from CALLIPER (NCT05054140), a Phase 2 clinical trial testing a daily dose of…

A new machine learning tool, a form of artificial intelligence (AI), may accurately detect the transition from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) — and may be able to do so even earlier than clinicians can — a new study showed. According to the…

Biostate AI is partnering with the nonprofit Accelerated Cure Project (ACP) to develop a series of artificial intelligence (AI) models that can predict multiple sclerosis (MS) progression and how patients may respond to treatment. As part of the partnership, Biostate AI will use its high-throughput technology to…

Medicaid coverage for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the U.S. is associated with worse disease outcomes — including more clinical relapses and greater disability progression — compared with private insurance, according to a new study that investigated the impact of insurance type and socioeconomic factors on patient care. In…

Frexalimab, an experimental antibody-based medication, was well tolerated and maintained disease control over two years in adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s according to new data from an open-label extension to a Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT04879628) in which frexalimab outperformed a placebo at reducing…

Sanofi‘s oral BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib significantly delayed the onset of six-month confirmed disability progression compared with a placebo, by 31%, in people with nonrelapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). That’s according to recently published data from the HERCULES Phase 3 trial (NCT04411641), where the experimental therapy…

Treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) may help delay disability progression in people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) over Rebif (interferon beta-1a), an analysis of data from two clinical trials suggests. While the trials initially failed to demonstrate slowing disease progression, a significant benefit was observed when accounting…

Cognitive impairment is common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have not previously received treatment, affecting about 1 in 4 patients, and rates are particularly higher in those with secondary progressive MS (SPMS), a new study found. “The current study demonstrates that a significant portion of MS…

In people with multiple sclerosis (MS), lesions that get slowly bigger over time, potentially due to chronic inflammation, are associated with more myelin loss throughout the brain, a study found. Loss of myelin was observed in these slowly expanding lesions, in other types of lesions, and also in regions…

Disability progression independent of relapse activity, or PIRA, in the earliest stages of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is associated with worsening quality of life, a study in Sweden shows. PIRA is a form of sustained disability worsening that occurs in the absence of multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses. While…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who switch from a high- to a moderate-efficacy disease-modifying therapy (DMT) increase their risk of disease activity, especially younger adults and those having inflammatory disease activity before a switch, a study finds. Knowing these factors “can help guide future studies on deescalation,” researchers…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who eat more fish are significantly less likely to see confirmed disability progression and the greater the intake, the lower the progression risk, a study in Sweden finds. The dietary habits of patients were assessed at the time of their diagnosis and disability progression…

Note: This story was updated March 6, 2025, to clarify the specific disability measures and results assessed in each trial. Sanofi’s experimental BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib may be more effective at reducing the risk of disability accumulation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have evidence of paramagnetic…

Using Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a first-line treatment for early-stage relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is significantly better at delaying disease progression than starting with a less effective drug and switching to Ocrevus later. That’s according to nine years of data from the OPERA I (NCT01247324) and…