MS lesions

It’s not unusual to hear someone say, “I was diagnosed with MS in [fill in the year], but I probably should have been diagnosed five or 10 years earlier.” Now a study reports that during the five years before someone is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), it’s quite…

Blocking a protein receptor called muscarinic type 3 (M3R) could be an effective way to promote remyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) study in mice. The research, “Muscarinic receptor M3R signaling prevents efficient remyelination by…

Nicotine, the active agent in tobacco, and amyloid proteins, which underlie Alzheimer’s disease, bind to a receptor present in certain immune cells and work to lessen inflammation, a study reports. Activating this receptor — called the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor — was seen to ease multiple sclerosis (MS) progression in…

A common anti-parasitic agent showed a potential to prevent inflammation and to promote nerve cell recovery — remyelination — in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). By promoting the activity of a receptor called P2X4R that is present in microglial cells — immune cells that reside in the brain…

Cognitive impairment is common among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and can be assessed through touchscreen cognitive tests in clinical care, a British study reports. The study “Investigating Domain-Specific Cognitive Impairment Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis Using Touchscreen Cognitive Testing in Routine Clinical Care” was published in the…

Brain volume loss takes place at a faster rate in the first five years of multiple sclerosis than later in disease course, researchers report in a study that calls for scientists to “reconsider” — for this and related reasons — proposals to use volume loss as a measure of treatment efficacy…

An MRI technique known as magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) correlated closely with the progression of slowly evolving lesions (SELs) — a specific type of multiple sclerosis lesion — in patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS). According to the researchers, monitoring changes in SELs — which indicate demyelination and loss of nerve fibers —…

An investigational cannabidiol-derived compound called EHP-101 may help to boost remyelination, prevent nerve cell damage and lower the reactivity of microglia cells — immune cells of the brain and spinal cord — a  study in mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS) reports. EHP-101, being developed by Emerald Health…

Grey matter atrophy — its loss —  follows a sequential pattern that expands to involve more regions of the brain over time in all multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, regardless of their disease type, a new study reports. Atrophy progression is also similar between relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and primary-progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS)…

Treating mice in a model of multiple sclerosis (MS) with laquinimod before the onset of symptoms eased inflammation so as to help preserve their vision — lessening damage to the optic nerve and retina, a study from Germany reports. The study, “Laquinimod protects the optic nerve and…

A radioactive probe that might enable imaging tools to effectively monitor what a gene therapy is doing in the brain — important in treating diseases like multiple sclerosis with such a therapy — has been developed at Stanford University. The probe is a kind of radiotracer used successfully in this study…

A new fluorescent imaging strategy allows researchers to track T-cells and further understand their dynamics in vivo, giving them insight into what happens when these immune cells attack myelin in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). The new technology was reported in the study, “A timer for…

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) used to assess inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients should include scans of the spinal cord and not be restricted to the brain, because brain scans alone risk underestimating disease progression, a study suggests. These results were shared in the presentation, “Measuring disease activity in…

Analysis of post-mortem brain samples from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy individuals (without neurologic disease) showed that while signs of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection are present in both groups of brains, EBV-positive immune cells were more prevalent and densely populated in the MS brain. The study reporting those findings,…

Researchers have unveiled a new cell death mechanism called pyroptosis — also known as “fiery death” — as a main factor driving neurodegeneration and loss of myelin in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). An inhibitor of pyroptosis, currently undergoing testing in human clinical trials for epilepsy, decreased central nervous system inflammation…

A new way of interpreting inflammatory signals using the vagus nerve — which carries such signals from throughout the body to the brain — has been found, a study reports. This finding raises the possibility of having a kind of “early warning system” for inflammation, a damaging process in such…

Atrophy (shrinkage) of brain lesions correlates with physical disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), new research reports. The study, “Atrophied Brain Lesion Volume: A New Imaging Biomarker in Multiple Sclerosis,” was published in the Journal of Neuroimaging. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are used routinely on MS patients…

Inhibiting an oxidative stress enzyme called myeloperoxidase protects the blood-brain barrier in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), limiting the migration of immune cells and halting their attack on nerve cells, researchers have found. Disruption of the blood-brain barrier is a hallmark of various disorders, including MS, and when…

A chemical compound called indazole chloride promotes repair of myelin, the protective layer of nerve fibers, through “beneficial” inflammation in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. The preclinical research, “Increase in chemokine CXCL1 by ERβ ligand treatment is a key mediator in…

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…

Infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus triggers expression of a factor called TOX in immune cells strengthening their migration into the brain and promoting damaging effects, including inflammation and tissue destruction. These findings represent a new piece of the puzzle about the mechanism underlying autoimmune diseases  like multiple sclerosis (MS).

A case study reported the successful management of a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient who developed a rare condition in the brain — progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) — due to treatment with Novartis Pharmaceutical’s Gilenya (fingolimod). The study, titled “Fingolimod-associated PML with mild IRIS in MS: A…

B-cell alterations in peripheral blood may predict the conversion of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) to multiple sclerosis (MS), a recent study suggests. Conducted in Turkey, the study, “Peripheral blood memory B cell frequency predicts conversion from clinically isolated syndrome to multiple sclerosis,” was published in…

A potential biomarker — the ratio of antibody proteins in cerebrospinal fluid at the time of diagnosis — was seen to predict which  multiple sclerosis patients will progress into full-blow disability some five years after being diagnosed in a new study. If confirmed in larger clinical studies, this biomarker could to…

A molecule responsible for preventing the repair of white matter in the brain, a process critical to treating multiple sclerosis (MS) and cerebral palsy, has been identified. The research, “A TLR/AKT/FoxO3 immune-tolerance like pathway disrupts the repair capacity of oligodendrocyte progenitors,” was published in The Journal…

Subtle changes in myelin, the protective layer of nerve fibers, may be an early event in multiple sclerosis (MS) prior to the inflammatory reaction, a new University of Calgary study shows. The study, “Biochemically altered myelin triggers autoimmune demyelination,” was published in the journal Proceedings…

The science underlying our understanding of multiple sclerosis — through to new technologies that might expand that understanding in ways “never imagined” — was the focus of a recent educational webinar titled “The Evolving Science of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).” Kottil Rammohan, MD, a professor of clinical neurology and director of the…

Exposure to epsilon toxin (ETX), which is mainly found in livestock, could be linked to the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. The study, “Evidence of Clostridium perfringens epsilon toxin associated with multiple sclerosis,” appeared in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal. ETX is one of…

Extending the time between standard doses of Tysabri (natalizumab) from four weeks to up to 12 weeks is linked to a significant decrease in the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients infected with what’s known as the JC virus, according to a recent analysis of data from…

A one-year analysis of the ongoing Phase 3 EVOLVE-MS-1 trial of ALKS 8700 as a therapy for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) supports the experimental therapy’s effectiveness, with the treatment significantly reducing the number of MS lesions. Interim results from the trial were presented Tuesday at the…