May 1, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Stem cell therapy, early Aubagio use, DMTs Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Today I’ll focus on stories from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2023 Annual Meeting, held April 22-27 in Boston. Hereās a look at…
April 24, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Yoga, vitamin D, myelin repair, fall risk Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Yoga vs. physical therapy The MS News Today article “Yoga better than physical therapy at improving…
April 17, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: EBV vaccine trial, DMT costs, Mavenclad, evobrutinib Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: EBV vaccine trial could start in 2024 The MS News Today story “Vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus…
April 10, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Sativex, Octopus ‘mega-trial’, Ocrevus, snuff Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Good patient reviews for Sativex Sativex (nabiximols) is an oral cannabinoid spray designed to ease MS…
April 3, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Orelabrutinib, foralumab, diets, coffee and tea Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column in which I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: A positive report on orelabrutinib Orelabrutinib is one of several experimental Brutonās tyrosine kinase (BTK)…
March 27, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Briumvi, COVID-19, PML, disability rights victory Note: This column was updated March 30, 2023, to remove the statement that Briumvi is more potent than Ocrevus or Kesimpta as there have been no trials comparing the three therapies’ potency. Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column in which I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS)…
March 20, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Ocrevus, MDX-2201, online cannabis clinic, WHO Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column in which I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Study shows Ocrevus lowers risk of MS progression This seems to be just what the doctor ordered,…
March 13, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: MSC-NP, GA Depot, AI and MRIs, aggressive treatment Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column in which I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: A different type of stem cell transplant When stem cell transplant is mentioned to treat someone…
March 6, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Briumvi, vitamin D, CNM-Au8 Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column in which I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. In this column, Iāll be highlighting more MS News Today articles from the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis…
February 27, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Evobrutinib, a portable MRI, fatigue, depression Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. In this column, I’ll be highlighting some MS News Today stories from last week’s Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis…
February 20, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Remyelination, CNM-Au8, diet and bones Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: More remyelination research For years, most MS research has focused on stopping disease progression. In the past couple…
February 13, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Older MS patients, Lucid-MS, dysphagia, MS progression Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a weekly Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Older patients and DMTs The title of a report by MS News Today‘s Patricia Inacio notes…
February 6, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Tysabri biosimilar, diet, cognitive rehab, aging Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a weekly Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Tysabri biosimilar on the horizon Tysabri (natalizumab) is a very effective disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for…
January 30, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Myelin, SAR443820, Teenagers and Sleep, NICE Standards Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a weekly Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: A protein to restore myelin? I usually don’t like to comment on stories about mouse studies, because…
January 23, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Tascenso ODT Approval, Baclofen Disdain, Myelin Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Gilenya alternative The disease-modifying therapy (DMT) Gilenya (fingolimod) has been around since 2010. Now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has…
January 16, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: COVID-19, Gut Bacteria, Remyelination, Stem Cells Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Could COVID-19 trigger MS? Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been scattered reports of people who’ve developed neurological disorders,…
January 9, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: PoNS Online, Foralumab, Masitinib, Gaslighting Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Tongue stimulator now easier to obtain A Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) is a mouthpiece that mildly stimulates nerves in the tongue that…
December 19, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Brain Stimulation, Bright Light, ABA-101, Foralumab Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Possible nonmedicinal treatment for fatigue, spasticity, pain Wouldn’t it be nice to find a treatment that helps people with MS handle three…
December 12, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: DMT Costs, Copaxone, EBV, Rituximab Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Is cost a factor when deciding DMT use? Cost may be the elephant in the room when people with MS are…
December 5, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Sexual Dysfunction, Bladder Problems, AI, and More Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: A medication that may ease sexual problems for women with MS Sexual dysfunction is common among people with MS, affecting up…
November 28, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Climate Change, MS Progression, Brain Shrinkage Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās happening: Study reports climate change makes MS symptoms worse Climate change may lead to more perils than rising oceans, harsher storms, and melting ice…
November 21, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Stem Cell Therapy, EBV Vaccine, Diabetes, Diets Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s happening: Understanding stem cell therapy Researchers in Zurich wanted to understand what happens to the immune system of a person with MS undergoing a…
November 14, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Foralumab, ATA188, Precision Care, PoNS Trial Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s happening: Could a nasal spray join the MS treatment arsenal? Shots, pills, and infusions are approved in the U.S. as disease-modifying therapies for MS,…
November 7, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Stem Cell Transplant Versus DMTs, Treatment Efficacy, Cancer Risk, Employment Welcome to “MS News Notes,” where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. The articles in today’s column came from the annual Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), held Oct. 26ā28 in Amsterdam. Most…
October 31, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: ECTRIMS, Ocrevus, Kesimpta, Epstein-Barr, DMTs Here are a few multiple sclerosis (MS) stories that caught my eye last week. Two of them came out of this year’s Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). Ocrevus treatment More than 250,000 people with MS have been treated with the…
October 24, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Nabiximols, Spinal Fluid Biomarkers, Mediterranean Diet, ‘Shaky’ Treadmill Here are a few multiple sclerosis (MS) stories that caught my eye last week: Can nabiximols ease MS spasticity? In “4 Weeks of Nabiximols Found to Ease Spasticity in MS Pilot Study,” Margarida Maia reports some potentially good news for people with MS spasticity. Nabiximols, marketed in…
October 17, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Cholesterol and MS Progression, Fatigue, Epstein-Barr Note: This column has been updated Oct. 18, 2022, to correct the name of the cholesterolĀ medicine the columnist uses to Pravachol.Ā Here are a few multiple sclerosis (MS) stories that caught my eye last week: Low cholesterol and aggressive MS progression The story “Low Cholesterol May Reflect More…
October 10, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: aHSCT, Iron Rim Lesions, Smell Test, Electrical Brain Stimulation The following multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories caught my eye last week: Stem cell transplant and nerve fiber damage This small study of 43 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ who underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) in Sweden reports that their disability during the period of…
September 26, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Gut Bacteria, Strength Training, Robots, Gilenya Patent Gut Bacteria Are Altered in MS, Linked to Disease Progression Several studies have indicated that the composition of gut bacteria in people with MS is different from that of healthy people. But earlier studies didn’t take into account environmental factors, such as where the study subjects lived or what…
September 19, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: EBV, Stem Cell Transplant, NurOwn, Progression Without Relapse T-cells Targeting Epstein-Barr Virus at High Levels in MS Patients The evidence of a link between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis (MS) continues to mount. The current thinking is that the immune responses that fight EBV may drive the attacks against the myelin nerve coating, which is…