The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Trethera Corporation’s experimental oral therapy TRE-515 for demyelinating optic neuritis, an eye condition that may progress to multiple sclerosis (MS) or occur during the disease course. The first-in-class therapy is expected to lessen the inflammation…
MS lesions
A set of receptors involved in dopamine signaling may play a key role in the activation of astrocytes, nerve support cells that contribute to the inflammation that drives multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative disease. Mice lacking these receptors — called dopamine…
Calyx and Qynapse have joined forces to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based neuroimaging tools in clinical trials of treatment candidates for conditions affecting the central nervous system (CNS), or the brain and spinal cord. This is expected to help advance therapy development for multiple sclerosis…
A man-made molecule derived from a naturally occurring amino acid was able to promote the repair of the myelin sheath — a fatty coating around nerve fibers that is damaged in multiple sclerosis — in a mouse model of the disease, a new study reports. “These findings suggest that ……
Labcorp has launched a widely accessible test that measures the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, to screen for signs of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The test is performed on a standard blood sample taken at a hospital, at the…
Rune Labs has partnered with Coastal Research Institute (CRI) to identify new and noninvasive biomarkers of the loss of myelin, the fatty sheath surrounding nerve fibers that is progressively damaged by multiple sclerosis (MS). The collaboration involves a patient study that will take advantage of Rune Labs’…
The presence of iron rim lesions (IRLs), which are regions of chronic nervous system damage with ongoing inflammation, visible on MRI scans, is linked with more substantial disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. However, the connection between these lesions and worse disability does not…
An MRI technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) can be used to accurately identify remyelinated brain lesions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a research team has discovered. Remyelinated lesions are those in which the myelin sheath — the protective coating around nerve fibers that is progressively lost…
Taking the pregnancy hormone estriol in combination with Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) significantly reduced the blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — a marker of nerve damage — in women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), clinical trial data show. These lower NfL levels were significantly associated with a…
OM1 has created an artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm to estimate scores on the expanded disability status scale (EDSS), an established method for evaluating disability and disease progression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The algorithm, using a method called machine learning, was trained to estimate EDSS scores…
Proteins called tenascins block the regeneration of myelin by modulating the activity of oligodendrocytes, myelin-making cells of the central nervous system, a study in mouse models indicates. “Our research results open up new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis,” Juliane Bauch, a researcher at Ruhr-University…
Vidofludimus Calcium Safely Reduced RRMS Brain Lesions Vidofludimus calcium, also called IMU-838, is an oral therapy designed to reduce the activity of B- and T-cells. These are immune cells believed to be responsible for the inflammation that results in MS damage. In this small study, active lesions — including…
Treatment with the experimental immune-modulating therapy vidofludimus calcium reduced disease activity on MRI scans in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), data from the Phase 2 EMPhASIS clinical trial shows. Top-line results from EMPhASIS were reported by the therapy’s developer Immunic Therapeutics in 2020. Researchers at…
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…
Higher numbers of immune cells circulating in the bloodstream may mean a greater likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study based on a large pool of genetic data in people of European ancestry. One particular type of immune cell, called natural killer (NK) cells, was linked…
A protein called nephronectin mediates autoimmunity in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), and blocking this protein was found to prevent disease progression and processes that drive T-cells toward an inflammatory state, researchers reported. Study findings support nephronectin, a protein involved in kidney development, as a promising treatment…
A blood biomarker test developed by Octave can effectively monitor overall disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), helping to improve the care being given, the company reported. The assay, dubbed the MS Disease Activity (MSDA) test, can also be used to monitor disease activity across…
A new scoring system might more precisely evaluate disease development, severity, and treatment response in a commonly used mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) known as the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis or EAE model, scientists report. This scoring system, called “I AM D EAE,” was described in the study, “…
Among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients starting on Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), an early decrease in the leakiness of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is associated with a lower likelihood of disease activity after two years, according to a new study. The blood-brain barrier is a cellular divisor that regulates which substances…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have lesions in three regions of the brain — the anterior temporal horn, periventricular region, and cerebellar hemisphere — compared with people with other inflammatory brain diseases, a study reports. Looking for lesions in these parts of the brain may…
Disease severity, brain volume loss, and brain lesions are able to predict later cognitive declines in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study in China found. The study, “Clinical and MRI predictors of cognitive decline in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a 2-year longitudinal study,”…
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with fatigue have significantly lower levels of amyloid precursor protein (APP) — a molecule involved in nerve cell function — in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) relative both to those without this common symptom and healthy people, a study shows. The CSF is the liquid…
The experimental therapy XPro1595 was found to promote remyelination — the repair of the myelin sheath — in a mouse model of myelin loss, new data show. Myelin, the fatty covering that helps nerve fibers send electrical signals, is damaged by the immune system in …
The National Institute for Health and Care Evidence (NICE) in England has issued a briefing on the use of Icometrix‘s icobrain system to assess disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) based on MRI scans. The NICE statement was in the form of a medtech innovation briefing, or…
Long-term treatment with tolebrutinib significantly reduced signs of disease-related brain damage in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from a Phase 2 clinical trial and its extension study. Specifically, the investigational oral therapy was found to keep the number of inflamed brain lesions…
Serum levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — proteins found in nerve cell projections — can help in the prediction of disease progression among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an analysis of data from two large Phase 3 trials. The researchers said that NfL…
Loss of gray matter in the spinal cord clearly associates with greater disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but determining the extent of its loss is limited by an inability to accurately measure gray matter in all patients, a small study in Spain reported. The true amount of…
Physician-researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in California, are developing brain and eye imaging techniques to improve the diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is characterized by the progressive loss of myelin, the fatty protective sheath around nerve fibers, in the brain and spinal cord due to abnormal…
An intervention that involves training to recognize facial expressions, and also mimicking these expressions, may help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have trouble recognizing facial affect, according to data from a small clinical trial. These findings were reported in the study “Emotional processing intervention (EMOPRINT):…
Simoa, a technology that detects relevant molecules in samples with up to 1,000 times greater sensitivity than conventional methods, has helped to advance research into a blood biomarker expected to predict future disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Specifically, Quanterix‘s ultra-sensitive technology allowed an international team…