February 22, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Apitope’s ATX-MS-1468 Therapy Decreases Brain Lesions in Relapsing MS Patients Treatment with Apitopeās lead agent, ATX-MS-1467, decreased brain lesions in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) in a now-completed Phase 2aĀ clinical trial. ATX-MS-1467 is a potential disease-modifying agent with anĀ immune-tolerating action. It consists of four short peptides derived from the myelin basic protein, and is designed to reduce…
February 16, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Sir Peter Mansfield, Pioneering MRI Physicist The MS world lost a very important person on Feb. 8. Britain’s Sir Peter Mansfield, Nobel Laureate, passed awayĀ at the age of 83. For most of us, his name means little, but his work revolutionized the way multiple sclerosis is diagnosed, and the way progression of the disease…
February 2, 2017 News by admin Long-term Treatment with Gilenya Found to Limit Lesions, Relapses in Japanese MS Patients Continuous treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod)Ā helps limit relapses and detectable lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a three-year, follow-upĀ studyĀ in Japan. The results confirmĀ the findings of trials conducted in predominantly Caucasian populations. The findings were reported in the study, āLong-term efficacy and safety of fingolimod in…
January 19, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Siemens Healthineers and Biogen to Enhance MRI’s Ability to Help MS Patients Siemens Healthineers and BiogenĀ will collaborate to develop new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications that can quantify key markers of multiple sclerosis (MS). āBy bringing together the shared expertise of both Siemens Healthineers and Biogen in imaging and neurology, respectively, we seek to develop new measurement tools that…
January 16, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Early Detection of PML May Lessen Damage Done to MS Patients Using Tysabri Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) is linked to better outcomes if the condition does not give rise to actual symptoms and is diagnosed early. Limited brain lesions and moreĀ protective immune responses were also seen in patients who fared better, but researchers…
December 12, 2016 Columns by Debi Wilson Know which questions to ask your neurologist about MRIs I’m sure all of us with multiple sclerosis have had at least one magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Most likely, more than one. MRIs are designed to scan and provide detailed pictures of the body, the brain included. The test can reveal scars (plaque lesions) on the brain and the…
November 22, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD RSNA 2016: Philips to Debut Advanced Software Applications to Evaluate Neurological Disorders Royal PhilipsĀ willĀ introduce a new suite of magnetic resonance (MR)-based software applications at the upcomingĀ Radiological Society of North Americaās 102ndĀ Scientific Meeting and Annual Assembly (RSNA 2016;Ā #RSNA16) Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 in Chicago. Philipsā Ingenia family of digital MRI systemsĀ provides radiologists with a unique set…
November 15, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD New Way of Scanning Brain Captures Onset of Inflammation in MS Mice and Patients Advances in brain imaging are makingĀ it possible to visualize early and ongoing events in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā beginning with the first signs of inflammation caused by immune cells entering the brain. ShouldĀ the new technique become available to physicians, it likely will not only allow for more precise diagnoses, but…
November 4, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD NIH Researcher Working on MS Imaging Wins 2016 Barancik Prize for Innovation Dr. Daniel Reich, a researcher with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ā has beenĀ recognized for his pioneering work on brain imagingĀ to advance both the treatment of people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā and scientific understanding of the disease. Reich, aĀ neurologist, neuro-radiologist and neuroscientist,Ā was awarded theĀ 2016 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS…
October 19, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Apitope Regains Full Rights to Potential MS Therapy, ATX-MS-1467 ApitopeĀ andĀ Merck KGaAĀ announced that they have entered into an exclusive agreement regardingĀ ATX-MS-1467, a potential disease-modifying therapy for Ā multiple sclerosis (MS). Under itsĀ terms, Apitope will regain full global rights over ATX-MS-1467, as well as allĀ clinical data related to the compound. In 2009, the companyĀ grantedĀ exclusive global rights toĀ Merck KGaA to develop…
September 28, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD McGill Scientist to Use $6.1M PMSA Award to Search for Markers of Change in Progressive MS In its effort to end progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), the International Progressive MS Alliance (PMSA) has awarded a $6.1 million grant to fund a research project led by Dr. Douglas Arnold with the Montreal Neurological Institute Hospital (MNI) at McGill University. The multiyear grant is one of three…
September 19, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Brain MRI Scans Can Predict Which Patients Will Progress into SPMS The presence of certain brain and spinal cord lesions can be used to predict if an MS patient with clinically isolated syndrome will progress into relapsing or secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) within 15 years. Researchers agree that knowing which patients who will rapidly deteriorate will help physicians tailor both…
September 8, 2016 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD Migraine and Other ‘Common’ Ills Being Mistaken for MS, Study Finds Patients with a number of commonĀ conditions ā some neurological and some autoimmune, but others not ā are being mistakenly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) because of difficulties in correctly determining this disease and, possibly, pressure to begin treatment early in the disease’s course, according toĀ a recent study published in the…
August 11, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Early Disease Activity in MS Seen to Have Little Long-Term, Prognostic Value A large study of multiple sclerosis patients (MS) came to the conclusion that clinical and brain imaging assessments drawn from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scansĀ areĀ poor measures of long-term prognosis for patients. The study, āLong-term evolution of multiple sclerosis disability in the treatment era,ā published in the journal…
July 8, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Brain Atrophy in MS Patients May Soon Be More Easily and Routinely Examined Detecting brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients requires high quality scans, tooĀ expensive and complicated for routine clinical use. But this may change with a new software that simplifies the calculation of brain atrophy based on data from routine magnetic resonance images (MRI). The new toolĀ and its benefits wereĀ recently described…
July 1, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD New MRI Method Has Potential to Map MS Progression and Guide Treatment Researchers working withĀ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)Ā are often faced with a problem: an average MRI brain scan produces a considerable amount of images (around 600 megabytes), but half carry distortions that make them unreadable. These āphase images,ā as they are known, are usuallyĀ discarded and their insightsĀ lost. Now, the work of researchers…
June 22, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Poor Physical and Cognitive Skills in MS Patients Linked to Cerebral Microbleeds As we age, the risk that small blood vessels will start leaking into brain tissue increases, raising ourĀ risk ofĀ dementia, stroke, and Parkinsonās disease. New research reveals that peopleĀ with multiple sclerosis (MS) also have these so-called cerebral microbleeds, andĀ links them to increasedĀ physical and cognitive disability. When Robert Zivadinov, a professor of…
June 3, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #CMSC16 – Connections Between Brain Hemispheres in MS Improved with Ampyra (Dalfampridine) While most multiple sclerosis (MS) researchers focus on the autoimmune and inflammatory processes of the disease, researchers at the Mind Research NetworkĀ (MRN) believe that improving axonal function might contribute to better MS outcomes. Using Ampyra (dalfampridine), they thoroughly analyzed the function of nerve axon connections between the two brain…
May 9, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Combined Use of Imaging Techniques Allows Scientists to Peer Into Myelin Formation TheĀ evolution of the myelin sheath throughout childhood has beenĀ visualizedĀ in vivoĀ for a first time, according toĀ findingsĀ reported in the study “Mapping an index of the myelin g-ratio in infants using magnetic resonance imaging,” published in the journalĀ NeuroImage. To function well, nerve cells in theĀ brain rely on…
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 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…
February 24, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Relapsing MS Treatment Showing Efficacy in Phase 2 Extension Study, Celgene Reports at ACTRIMS 2016 Celgene CorporationĀ announced theĀ results from anĀ extension studyĀ of theĀ RADIANCE Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating ozanimod in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The results were also presented at the recentĀ Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2016Ā in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ozanimod is a small…
February 19, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Leptomeningeal Inflammation May Offer New Treatment Targets In Progressive Forms of MS Researchers at Johns Hopkins UniversityĀ in Baltimore presented keyĀ findings today, Feb. 19, concerningĀ the presence of contrast-enhancing lesions in later stages in the relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) model. The presentation was made at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2016, which is ongoing through…
February 19, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Progressive MS Trials May Need a ‘Tailored’ MRI Approach, Researcher Tells ACTRIMS 2016 Dr. Daniel S. Reich with Johns Hopkins UniversityĀ isĀ givingĀ an oral talk on āMRI as an Outcome Measure in Progressive Multiple Sclerosisā at Friday’sĀ ACTRIMS Forum 2016.Ā This year’sĀ meetingĀ focuses on progressive MS, and runs through Saturday, Feb. 20, in New Orleans. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been the…
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 Margarida Azevedo, MSc MS Patients’ Diminished Sense of Taste Linked in Study to Severity of Brain Lesions Taste deficits are considerably more prevalent in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients than previously thought, and correlate directly with the severity of MS-related brain lesions, researchers report in an article titled āTaste dysfunction in multiple sclerosis,ā published in the Journal of Neurology. Sensory problemsĀ are common MS symptoms, with…
February 2, 2016 News by admin Individual with PPMS Shares His Experience of Undergoing Stem Cell Therapy Geoff Flynn,Ā 42, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) two and a half years ago. As unsettling as that diagnosis was, more troubling ā both then and now ā were the five long years of struggle it took for him to get a proper evaluation as to the cause ofĀ his neurological…
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…
November 19, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Society Invests in Research into Underlying Causes of Disease The Multiple Sclerosis Society (MS Society) in the United Kingdom recently announced the investment of Ā£1.98 million in new MS research. The 16 projects awarded funding through the MS Societyās 2015 grant round were thoroughly evaluated in a rigorous review process. In total, 58 projects applied forĀ MS Society…
October 27, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD 2 Forms of Multiple Sclerosis Exhibit Differences in Cognitive Performance Study In a recent study published in the journal PLOS One, a team of researchers explored the differences in cognitive performance and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates of cognitive deficits in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) and patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) to underscore the importance…