July 8, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Levels of Certain Inflammatory Proteins May Predict Risk of Relapse Levels of certain inflammatory proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid around the brain and spinal cord, may help predict the risk of relapse activity for individuals with early multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study found. High levels of three such proteins were predictive of a greater risk of…
February 3, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Self-injectable Therapies Tied to No Disease in 50% of Patients at 2 Years More than half of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with self-injectable therapies ā namely, glatiramer acetate, marketed as Copaxone, among others, or any of a host of interferons ā showed no evidence of disease activity after two years, according to a study out of Turkey. Among patients treated for…
October 13, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ECTRIMS2021 ā Rituximab as First RRMS Therapy Outperforms Others Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the virtual 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Oct. 13ā15. GoĀ here to see the latest stories from the…
April 27, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM – Ocrevus, Rituximab Linked to More Severe COVID-19 Cases in Italy Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News TodayĀ team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17ā22. GoĀ hereĀ to read the latest stories from the conference. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that target CD20 are associated with worse outcomes from COVID-19 inĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, an…
January 8, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Target Tissues of Immune Attacks Too Often Ignored in Research, Study Says To fully understand autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), it is necessary to study not just the immune system, but also the tissue that the immune system is attacking, a study suggests. “We must move away from the present ‘immune-centric-only’ view of autoimmune diseases,” Decio Eizirik, MD, PhD, study…
July 6, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Tecfidera Safe and Effective in Hispanic/Latino MS Patients, Real-world Data Show TecfideraĀ (dimethyl fumarate) is as safe and effective in Hispanic/LatinoĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) patients as it is in their non-Hispanic and non-Latino peers, three-year data from a real-world study show. These interim findings, based on the largest group of Tecfidera-treated Hispanic and Latino MS patients studied to date, support the therapyās…
November 12, 2019 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Long-term IFN-Beta Treatment Normalizes Immune Balance in RRMS, Study Shows Long-term treatment with interferon beta (IFN-beta) corrects the defective immune balance characteristic of people withĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS), a study has found. The study also identified more than 200 genes with significantly different activity between complete and partial responders to IFN-beta treatment, which could be used to identify which…
November 1, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Interferons Superior to Glatiramer Acetate, and Tysabri More Effective than Gilenya for RRMS, Real-world Study Finds Interferon therapy (brand names Avonex, Betaseron, and others) is more effective than glatiramer acetate (sold as Copaxone, Glatopa and other generics) for reducing relapses…
October 18, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Are Injectables Inappropriate for Active Relapsing MS Treatment? With more high-efficacy therapies becoming available, is it now inappropriate to prescribe older injectables ā interferon beta and glatiramer acetate ā to people with active relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS)? This question was at the core of what was called a “burning debate” at this year’s European Committee…
October 17, 2019 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc Interleukin-22 May Be Biomarker to Monitor How Well RRMS Patients Respond to Therapy The levels of the inflammatory molecule interleukin-22 (IL-22) may be used as a potential biomarker to evaluate disease severity and the effectiveness of treatments in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new study shows. The study, āImpact of interferon Ī²-1b, interferon Ī²-1a and fingolimod therapies on serum…
October 15, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc #ECTRIMS2018 ā Additional Analysis on Ozanimod Demonstrates Its Potential to Treat Relapsing MS Additional analysis of clinical data from Celgeneās investigational agent ozanimod continues to demonstrate its potential to benefit patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Findings from the Phase 3 SUNBEAM and RADIANCE Part B trials were discussed at the 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and…
February 27, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias What’s Hot and What’s Not Among MS Therapies? The newest kids on the MS block, disease-modifying therapies (DMT) such as Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Sanofi Genzyme’s Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), are attracting a lot of interest these days. But, some DMTs that have been around for more than two decades are still being prescribed by a lot of neurologists.
November 17, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Nurses, Physicians’ Assistants Prescribe Antibody-based Therapies More Than Neurologists, Survey Shows U.S. nurses and physicians’ assistants prescribeĀ antibody-based disease-modifying therapies to their multiple sclerosis patients more than neurologists do, a survey indicates. The trend has been for the doctors to stick with interferon therapies, the study said. Antibody-based disease-modifying therapies are also known as monoclonal antibodies. They are designed to harness the…
September 28, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman MS Alphabet: Interferon, INO, inflammation and Other āIā Terms (Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this column about terms starting with the letter I.) Symptoms of MS Incontinence A common symptom of MS, incontinence refers to an inability to control oneās…
February 8, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Interferon Hangovers: Managing Treatment Side Effects Interferons (Beta and Alpha) are the oldest of the disease-modifying treatments, or DMTs, for people with MS. Interferons include Avonex, Betaseron, Rebif, and Plegridy. This column wonāt get into the pros and cons of each of these treatments. Instead, Iād like to focus on one of the more…
September 20, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Lemtrada and Tysabri Seen as Most Effective Therapies for MS in 5-Year Study A five-year study comparing theĀ efficacy of different treatments for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) foundĀ that, in general, Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Tysabri (natalizumab) are more effective asĀ therapies than Gilenya (fingolimod) and interferon Ī². StudyĀ results were presentedĀ in an oral presentation, āComparison of 5-year treatment outcomes between alemtuzumab versus natalizumab, fingolimod and interferon Ī²-1a,ā…
March 30, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) Seen to Slow Disease Progression by Targeting Key Brain Systems Several clinical trials have shown thatĀ alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) effectively reduces relapse rates in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and improves disability in the early stages of the disease. A new studyĀ adds to evidence of the drug’s efficiency by finding that it affects different aspects of disability to varying degrees, a finding…
October 15, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD EMD Serono Announces Publication of PRISMS-15 Years Follow-up Study Results on Rebif for RelapsingāRemitting Multiple Sclerosis EMD Serono, the U.S. biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, recently announced that the results of the 15 year follow-up trial PRISMS-15 (Prevention of Relapses and Disability by Interferon beta-1a Subcutaneously in Multiple Sclerosis) evaluating RebifĀ® (interferon beta-1a), a high-dose, high-frequency interferon beta for the treatment of…
September 29, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD FDA Approves BETACONNECT Autoinjector for BETASERON Delivery Bayer HealthCare is pleased to announce the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the approval ofĀ BETACONNECT, a first-of-its-kind electronic autoinjector indicated as a treatment forĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). For now, theĀ drug delivery device is only compatible with BETASERONĀ®Ā (interferon beta-1b), and will soon be available come early 2016. Ā While…
July 1, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Rocheās Ocrelizumab Found to be Superior to Standard Interferon Therapy in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Patients Roche recently announced encouraging results on its investigational medicine ocrelizumab as a therapy for patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis, which includesĀ either RRMS or SPMS with relapses. Ocrelizumab was evaluated in two pivotal studies (OPERA I and OPERA II), where it was compared to interferon (IFN) beta-1a (RebifĀ®), the standard-of-care…
April 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD FDA Accepts Bayerās BETACONNECT License Application for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Bayer HealthCareĀ recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the filing of a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for BETACONNECT forĀ the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). BETACONNECT isĀ a new drug delivery option for patients under Bayerās BETASERONĀ® (interferon beta-1b) therapy. MS is a…
February 20, 2015 News by Kara Elam Study on Immune Response in MS, Other Autoimmune Diseases Targets New Therapeutic Approach Ā A study published by a team of investigators at theĀ University of Tokyo’s Institute of Medical Science and Osaka University’s Graduate School of EngineeringĀ presented new evidence demonstrating how Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) binds to pathogenic DNA, turning on the functions of the innate immune…