Kessler Foundation

A team of Kessler Foundation researchers has been granted more than $700,000 by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for work that seeks to better understand the brain networks associated with primary fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The grant, totaling $722,602, was awarded to Glenn Wylie, PhD,…

A Kessler Foundation research scientist will use a multiyear, $704,054 federal grant to study care barriers, cardiovascular risk factors, and accelerated brain aging in Latino multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, the nonprofit healthcare organization announced in a press release. Cristina A. F. Román, PhD, an investigator with Kessler’s Rocco…

Researchers at the Kessler Foundation have received $725,499 from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to study how to improve learning and memory in multiple sclerosis (MS). The team will use the funding to evaluate the benefits of a cognitive intervention called COMBINE, which involves cognitive training and…

A new tool called signal detection theory (SDT) found a relationship between subjective cognitive fatigue, often experienced by people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and the activation of certain brain regions, a study reported. Although the relationship was found in both patients and healthy controls after cognitive fatigue was…

A Kessler Foundation scientist has been awarded nearly $600,000 to support the development and testing of a behavioral therapy intervention aiming to improve quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). An upcoming clinical trial into the intervention (NCT05195320), expected to begin…

National MS Society Urges DMT Dosing Changes for COVID-19 Vaccinations The National MS Society has revised its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations first issued about a month ago. The guidelines still say the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are considered safe for people with MS, including those using disease-modifying therapies, or DMTs.

Researchers at the Kessler Foundation, with support from Genentech, are opening a study into how Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) affects cognitive fatigue — the feeling of complete exhaustion after focused concentration — in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Cognitive fatigue is a frequent problem with MS, reported in…

Researchers from the Kessler Foundation will launch a new study investigating the effects of Tysabri (natalizumab) on cognitive fatigue — the type of fatigue that happens after strong mental concentration, such as in problem-solving — in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Cognitive fatigue, which is very…

The Spanish version of the modified Story Memory Technique improves learning and life satisfaction of Mexican patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests.  The tool, developed by the Kessler Foundation, has the potential to address the lack of cognitive rehabilitation interventions that are culturally…

The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) has awarded a grant to Kessler Foundation researchers, supporting a pilot study into how well different low-risk exercise regimens ease multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms and improve patients’ well-being. The grant recipients are John DeLuca, PhD, senior vice president for…

Testing cognitive abilities — like learning and memory, processing speed, and verbal fluency — can give valuable clues as to how well people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are able to go about their daily lives, according to a review study led by Kessler Foundation researchers. Neuropsychological tests are of “significant predictive…

Feeling tired, depressed, or anxious? Maybe it has to do with your social cognition. Social cognition involves empathy and recognizing the emotions that are revealed by someone’s facial expression. That expression may show fear or disgust. Or it may warn us of danger. Social cognition also involves the…

Social cognitive deficits in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are associated with higher levels of fatigue, depressive symptoms, and anxiety, new research conducted at the Kessler Foundation has found. Even though the study included only a small group of participants, it represents a step toward better understanding of the underlying…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $1.83 million grant to a Kessler Foundation researcher leading a clinical trial to test if a month-long cognitive training program can improve learning and memory in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, director of the Centers…

Two researchers at Kessler Foundation were awarded grants of $35,000 each by the New Jersey Health Foundation to pursue their investigations into new ways to improve rehabilitative care for disabilities caused by multiple sclerosis (MS) and stroke. One of the awardees…

Kessler Foundation researchers Ekaterina Dobryakova, PhD, and Pei-Pei Liu, PhD, have been awarded a $50,000 grant by the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society to study the speed at which MS patients process information during social interactions. A better understanding of how MS affects the way a person learns from others’…

A recent study found that elder individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience significantly less severe depressive symptoms and better quality of life than their younger counterparts. The research, “Subjective well-being differs with age in multiple sclerosis: A brief report,” was published in the journal Rehabilitation Psychology.

A brain training technique that helps boost processing speed was seen to significantly improve the cognitive capacity of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, as well as their ability to perform everyday activities, a pilot study shows. The study, “A Pilot Study Examining Speed of Processing Training (SPT) to Improve…

Kessler Foundation scientist Silvana Costa, PhD, was awarded a $477,000 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) to explore the effects of visual, cognitive, and motor deficits on information processing speed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Costa is an associate research scientist in neuropsychology and neuroscience research.

Learning impairments in multiple sclerosis (MS) are detected differently by the two most commonly used neuropsychological tests, a new study by the Kessler Foundation shows. The research, titled “Comparing the Open Trial – Selective Reminding Test results with the California Learning Verbal Test II in multiple…

A $44,000 National Multiple Sclerosis Society grant will allow a researcher at the Kessler Foundation to advance her work on multiple sclerosis patients’ emotional processing challenges. Dr. Helen Genova, Kessler’s assistant director of neuropsychology and neuroscience research, has been studying cognitive dysfunction in people with various diseases, including MS. In addition to neurological problems,…

Dr. Hannah Gullo, a University of Queensland (UQ) School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences researcher, is several steps closer to achieving her goal of using smartwatches to combat the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS), thanks to an $8,000 Ian Ballard Travel Award for 2016 that will fund her flying from…

Silvana L. Costa, PhD from the Kessler Foundation, was recently awarded a Switzer Research Fellowship by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). Dr. Costa is a Hearst Fellow in Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research at Kessler, where she investigates cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS). The Merit Fellowship,…

Ekaterina Dobryakova, PhD, was recently awarded a three-year grant worth $408,000 by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to study fatigue-influencing factors among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr. Dobryakova is a researcher in Traumatic Brain Injury Research at the Kessler Foundation, where she focuses on cognitive issues in…

Kessler Foundation researchers recently reported that the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) is able to predict the performance of normal daily activities. According to the researchers, the BICAMS is a promising tool to predict actual functional performance in participants with multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a progressive…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society recently awarded MS researcher Lauren Strober, PhD from the Kessler Foundation, a three-year grant for her investigational research, totaling $457,921. The funding is part of a multi-site study that will be conducted by the investigator to understand the influence that having…

In today’s healthcare environment, it is often not enough that patients are provided with the latest treatments. Good health is not merely the absence of injury or disease, but overall wellness that includes mental, spiritual and social health. A group of investigators from the Kessler Foundation…

Trying to nail down the reason for executive deficits in multiple sclerosis can be difficult, considering the number of factors related to the condition. A team of researchers from the Kessler Foundation — led by Victoria Leavitt, PhD, who is now a part of the Manhattan Memory Center, and…

Any intervention that could help multiple sclerosis patients preserve long-term memory would likely be well-received. As suggested by a recent study from the Kessler Foundation, “Working Memory Mediates the Relationship Between Intellectual Enrichment and Long-term Memory in Multiple Sclerosis: An Exploratory Analysis of Cognitive Reserve,” one…

Researchers at the Kessler Foundation bolstered the knowledge of cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis patients with an article published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. This longitudinal study is one of the longest among studies of cognition in multiple sclerosis. “While cognitive impairment is known to affect…