disease progression

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…

The Floodlight MS app, a digital health application used to track dexterity, walking function, and cognition in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), has been deemed cost-effective in a new analysis. Modeling simulations showed MS patients who use the app experience fewer relapses and slower disability progression, which would improve…

Smoking and obesity are both independently associated with faster disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), but when both risk factors are present together, a synergistic effect results in faster disease progression than can be explained by either alone. “Smoking and obesity significantly interacted to increase the risk of disability…

For women with multiple sclerosis (MS), disability starts to worsen significantly faster after menopause, according to a new study. “The study shows that menopause represents a unique factor in MS progression, even when we take into consideration the effects of aging,” Riley Bove, MD, study co-author at the University…

Treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) significantly reduces relapse rates for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and most MS patients on the approved therapy remain free from disability progression for several years. That’s according to a final analysis from the Phase 4 ESTEEM clinical trial (NCT02047097), which tracked…

The incidence of late-onset multiple sclerosis (LOMS), a form of multiple sclerosis (MS) that begins after age 50, has risen steadily between 2005 and 2020, particularly among people in their 60s, scientists in Italy report. “Our study is the first population-based study describing the IR [incidence rate] of LOMS…

About four in five adults with stable multiple sclerosis (MS) for at least five years remained free of disease activity after stopping first-line treatment with a disease-modifying therapy (DMT), according to a study based on data from the DOT-MS clinical trial. Still, disease activity reemerged in roughly 20%…

A specific type of brain lesion called a paramagnetic rim lesion, or PRL, is associated with worse disability over time in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but available disease-modifying therapies (DMT) can lower the chances of the appearance of these lesions, according to two studies published by scientists…

Activation of a protein called DLK may drive the death of nerve cells that have been demyelinated, or lost their protective myelin coating, in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study from U.S. researchers. The findings shed light on how a failure to repair lost or damaged…

Higher blood levels of bile acids — molecules found in the digestive fluid bile, which helps absorb fat in the gut — are associated with a slower progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), as indicated by imaging scans, a study by U.S. researchers reported. In a small clinical trial in…