November 7, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Stem Cell Transplant Versus DMTs, Treatment Efficacy, Cancer Risk, Employment Welcome to “MS News Notes,” where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. The articles in today’s column came from the annual Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), held Oct. 26ā28 in Amsterdam. Most…
November 7, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā ATA188 Could Be ‘Game Changing’ for Progressive MS In an early clinical trial, Atara Biotherapeuticsā investigational treatment ATA188 stabilized or eased disability in most people with nonactive, progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) ā with those benefits now having been sustained for up to four years. For MS patients, in whom disability progressively accumulates over time,…
November 4, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā Vumerity Lowers RRMS Activity Over 2 Years Up to two years ofĀ Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) treatment was generally well-tolerated and led to significant decreases in disease activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a final analysis of data from the open-label EVOLVE-MS-1 Phase 3 clinical trial. Indirect comparisons of Vumerity-treated patients against those…
November 2, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā DMTs Ease SPMS Disability Early but Not Over Time Early use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) among people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) may lead to overall lower levels of disability, according to a new analysis. But staying on treatment does not appear to significantly slow disability progression over time. People with SPMS who used DMTs early…
November 2, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā Analyses Weigh Stem Cell Transplant Versus DMTs Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) is superior to Gilenya (fingolimod) and Tysabri (natalizumab) at preventing relapses and reducing disability in people with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In turn, aHSCT appears to be as effective as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in RRMS patients and also was…
November 1, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā Tecfidera Lowers Risk of 1st Symptoms in RIS in Trial Treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) significantly reduces the risk of experiencing the first multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms in adults with radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS), according to data from a Phase 4 clinical trial. RIS is a condition in which patients have MS-like lesions on MRI scans, but…
November 1, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā High-efficacy DMTs Linked to Cervical Cancer Risk Exposure to high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is associated with an increased risk of cervical abnormalities in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), recent data suggest. The findings are consistent with previous reports showing these treatments may raise the risk of certain cancers, likely as a consequence of their immune-modulating…
October 31, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: ECTRIMS, Ocrevus, Kesimpta, Epstein-Barr, DMTs Here are a few multiple sclerosis (MS) stories that caught my eye last week. Two of them came out of this year’s Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). Ocrevus treatment More than 250,000 people with MS have been treated with the…
October 31, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā Genetic Variants Tied to Worse MS ID’d in New Study Genetic variants in genes mostly active in the brain and spinal cord ā the central nervous system ā are associated with the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS), and linked to a faster accrual of disability and greater signs of brain tissue damage, a new study found. Importantly, researchers estimated…
October 28, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā EBV Antibodies Precede Early Nerve Damage Signs An infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) consistently preceded elevations in neurofilament light chain (NfL), an early biomarker of nerve cell damage, in people who went on to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), new data show. An increase in NfL levels, which is thought to occur before the clinical…
October 27, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā Poor Myelin Repair Offers Clues in Disease Progression Remyelination, or regeneration of the myelin sheath that’s progressively damaged and lost in multiple sclerosis (MS), may be less effective for those who develop MS later in life, new research suggests. People with late-onset MS (LOMS) whose disease appears after age 50 have significantly fewer oligodendrocytes ā the…
October 27, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā Study Examines Ocrevus Use Before, During Pregnancy Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) before or during pregnancy does not seem to increase the risk of major pregnancy or infant complications, with 79% of the pregnancies leading to live births, according to data from more than 2,000 women with multiple sclerosisĀ (MS). The results were shared at the 38th…
October 26, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā Fertility Treatment Won’t Raise Relapse Risk for Women Fertility treatments do not significantly increase the risk of relapse in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), even among those who undergo treatment protocols associated with greater levels of hormone exposure, according to a recent U.S.-based analysis. Older age, a longer MS duration, and the use of MS disease-modifying…
October 26, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā 2-year Ocrevus Effective for Early MS Patients: Data Nearly 80% of people with early-stage relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) show no evidence of disease activity after two years of treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), according to updated data from the ENSEMBLE Phase 3b trial. More than 88% of the patients were negative for MRI activity, meaning they…