May 9, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #CMSC16 – High Glutamate Levels in Brain Seen to Drive MS Progression Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have increased levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate in their brains, lowering the levels of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) ā a processĀ that likely leads to the loss of brain volume. The findings indicate that glutamate might be a driver of neuronal cell death and disease progression in MS,…
April 27, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MedDayās MD1003, a Biotin, Shows ‘Remarkable’ Efficacy in Treating Inactive but Progressive MS in Clinical Trials MedDayĀ recently disclosed full study results from the MS-SPI and MS-ON Phase 2b/3 trials ofĀ its therapeutic candidate MD1003 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, the trials included people with “not active”Ā progressive MS and those with either relapsing or progressive MS andĀ visual loss, respectively. Data, presented at the recentĀ American…
April 20, 2016 News by admin Biogen Releases New Data Showing Effectiveness of Tecfidera in Newly Diagnosed MS Patients at AAN 2016 BiogenĀ reported new data describing the effectiveness of TecfideraĀ (dimethyl fumarate) in newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients in a recent presentation at the 68th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The conference, taking placeĀ in Vancouver, Canada, runs through April 21. Tecfidera is an…
April 1, 2016 News by Malika Ammam, PhD Study Finds Aubagio Well-tolerated and Efficient in Long-term MS Treatment Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, in collaboration with various institutions from north America and Europe, found that teriflunomide (Aubagio) is well-tolerated and efficient for long-term treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings, entitled āLong-term safety and efficacy of teriflunomide,ā were…
March 30, 2016 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc Oral MS Drug Derived from Plant Peptide Seen to Stop Disease Progression in Mice Researchers, working with an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), discovered that oral treatment with a synthesized plant peptide, known as cyclotide, halted the progression of clinical symptoms without side effects. The findingĀ offers new hope for the development of an easily available and orally deliverable treatment that mightĀ slow or even…
March 29, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Relapses During Natalizumab Therapy Traced to Drug’s Greater Impact on Regulatory T-cells Natalizumab (Tysabri) harnesses multiple sclerosis (MS) activity by targeting CD49, a molecule on the surface of immune cells. Now, researchers foundĀ that the drug reduces the factor on regulatory T-cells to a greater extent than on inflammatory T-cells ā a mechanism that might explain disease exacerbation during treatment. The molecule under…
March 28, 2016 News by admin MS Lesions in Cerebellum Ably Predict Disability Levels and Disease Progression, Study Suggests DamageĀ toĀ the cerebellum in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is due moreĀ to the death of actual nerve cellsĀ thanĀ the destruction of white matter connections, a new study out of Italy suggests. The article, which challenges previous ideas about how brain damage in MSĀ occurs, is titledĀ “MRI-detectable cortical lesions in the…
March 23, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD High Lactate Levels in MS Patients Tied to Disease Progression, Mitochondrial Dysfunction Scientists in recent years have wonderedĀ whether a link exists betweenĀ high lactate levels resulting from mitochondrial dysfunction andĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) progression. Now researchers in Italy showed that lactate, a metabolic byproduct, is indeed increased in the cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients andĀ may beĀ a disease driver. Mitochondria are the bodyās energy factories,…
March 18, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #CONy16: Scientists Debate MRI’s Role in MS Treatment Changes; Exclusive Interview with Prof. Xavier Montalban The precision of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurement has improved over the years, and now scans can identify brain damage before symptoms begin showing. Whether the presence of new or expanding lesions predict disease progression is, however, still controversial, and clinicians have no guidance when making treatment decisions about the…
March 10, 2016 News by admin Andrea Kaiser Shares Her PPMS Journey Through to Stem Cell Therapy in Exclusive Interview Andrea Perry Kaiser is a woman on a mission. The Long Beach, New York, resident is soon toĀ undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for her multiple sclerosis (MS). Kaiser contacted Multiple Sclerosis News Today to chronicle her journey, both before and following the treatment. She received aĀ primary progressive multiple sclerosis…
March 7, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Study Explores Brain Damage in MS Patients with Autoimmune Comorbidities People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who also suffer from other autoimmune conditions, like thyroid disease orĀ diabetes, have more severeĀ brain damage than MS patients without comorbidities, according to a study fromĀ theĀ University at Buffalo. The study wasĀ recently published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology. An earlier report from…
February 11, 2016 News by Charles Moore Assess MS: a New Therapy Assessment Tool Developed by Microsoft – Novartis Collaboration When Microsoft rolled out its original Kinect system for playing Xbox video games in November 2010, the technology caught the eye of giant multinational healthcare company Novartis. A longstanding research challenge for Novartis has been to devise and design more consistent methods of quantifying whether multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments…
February 10, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Study Finds Lipid Antibodies Reflect Changes in Brain Volume and Lesions Brigham and Womenās HospitalĀ researchers reported that antibodies directed at lipids are associated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of brain degenerationĀ in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and may potentially serve asĀ biomarkers for monitoring disease status. While the hyperintense brain lesions detected by MRI are crucial for diagnosis and therapeutic…
February 9, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Patients Seen to Safely Switch to Oral Drugs from Injectable Oral Therapies Stable multiple sclerosis (MS) patients do not appear to be at any increased risk of disease reactivation whileĀ switching to oral therapy following treatment with injectable interferon-Ī²/glatiramer acetate (IFNĪ²/GA), a study reports. Recently publishedĀ in the European Journal of Neurology,Ā the Australian study was titledĀ “Risk of early…
February 5, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Society Raised $25M to Fund New Research Through NOW Campaign The National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyĀ announced that its five-year campaign to raise $250 million hasĀ concluded with its goal fully achieved, allowing the society to launch more research intoĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) and effect more life-changing progress than at any other time in its nearly 70-year history. A total 818 research projects…
December 2, 2015 News by Margarida Azevedo, MSc MS Researchers Gather in Texas to Share Findings, Advance Ideas The Fifth Tykeson Fellows ConferenceĀ broughtĀ senior multiple sclerosis (MS) scientists together with nearly 100Ā young research and clinical fellows from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS Society of Canada, and MS International Federation to promote collaboration, networking, and the sharing of research data with the goal of improving patientsā lives and developing…
September 9, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Smoking Can Accelerate Disease Progression in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis A new study entitled āEffect of Smoking Cessation on Multiple Sclerosis Prognosisā recently revealed that smoking by patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) postĀ diagnosis accelerates their disease progression course. The study was published in the journal JAMA Neurology and was led by researchers at the…
May 21, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Potential Therapeutic Strategy to Halt Disease Progression in Multiple Sclerosis Developed A new study recently published in the journal Annals of Neurology revealed a potential new therapeutic strategy to halt multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression. The study is entitled āMelanoma cell adhesion moleculeāpositive CD8 T lymphocytes mediate central nervous system inflammationā and was led by…