MS spasticity

A clinical trial testing whether music therapy can make botulinum toxin injections for spasticity more tolerable for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions is enrolling participants at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital in France.  The study’s protocol was published in PLOS One, in a paper titled, “…

Sativex (nabiximols) — a cannabis-based oral spray used to ease spasticity in certain people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — has been acquired by CNX Therapeutics, which will now market the therapy in Europe and other international regions. The therapy, previously developed by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, is approved as…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted fast track designation to EG110A, EG 427‘s DNA-based therapy to treat neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) — a bladder disorder that can arise from spinal cord injury or neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The FDA gives fast track status to experimental…

A global clinical trial has been launched to evaluate the oral therapy candidate BMS-986368 for treating spasticity — muscle stiffness and spasms — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Phase 2 study (NCT06782490), called BALANCE-MSS-1, will enroll about 200 adults with MS who have experienced spasticity…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are treated with formulations of botulinum toxin to manage spasticity generally report being satisfied with the treatment, a new study reports. The study examined the use of these formulations in people with spasticity due to a number of conditions, the most common…

Fampridine, which is approved to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and the disease-modifying therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) seem to have the greatest benefits on MS walking abilities, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of treatment options. The data align with previous findings for fampridine, which…

Sacral neuromodulation (SNM), in which an implanted device delivers mild electrical pulses to the nerves that control the bladder, led to sustained improvements in urinary function in half of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who underwent surgery to have the device put into place, according to a review of…

Nabiximols and other cannabis-based preparations sometimes used with multiple sclerosis (MS) appear to work well for controlling spasticity, a common disease symptom that occurs when muscles stiffen or tighten, a meta-analysis of findings in published studies reported. Larger studies into cannabis-based treatments of spasticity for these patients…

Adding noninvasive brain stimulation to physical therapy may help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) improve their balance and walking ability, a study shows. Benefits to physical therapy with and without brain stimulation were observed, but most only remained significant after six months in those who’d also received brain stimulation.

My last column described how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects my feet, so today I’m writing about how it affects my hands. I don’t believe MS has affected my wrists or palms, but my fingers and thumbs aren’t “normal” anymore. My most prominent symptom is loss of sensation,…

The Neural Sleeve developed by Cionic significantly reduced foot drop, which is a difficulty lifting the foot that often causes people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to drag their toes when they walk. The lightweight bionic garment is cleared in the U.S. to improve mobility in MS. In…

Nabiximols, a cannabis-based oral spray sold as Sativex, was reported to considerably ease spasticity — unusual muscle tightness or stiffness — in about two-thirds of the multiple sclerosis (MS) patients using it for three months in a real-world study in Germany. For most patients, the treatment also…

Enrollment is nearly complete in a clinical trial of the Scone neuromodulation device in treating neurogenic, or overactive, bladder due to multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke, or spinal cord injury, SpineX, its developer, announced. Currently, 95 adult patients (more than 80% of planned total), ages 18 to…

A noninvasive brain stimulation technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can significantly improve walking abilities in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a pooled analysis of published studies. The technique was effective when applied to the main brain region called the primary motor cortex, which is involved…

I’m back in my happy place. My wife, Laura, and I, along with our Yorkie-poo and our Maine Coon cat, have made it back to our Florida home after 16 hours and about 1,000 miles of driving over two days. There were no traffic jams, we had a comfortable motel…

Nabiximols, the cannabis-based oral spray sold as Sativex, is available for reimbursement as an add-on therapy for moderate to severe spasticity in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Ireland who failed to respond as intended to other spasticity medications. Marked by muscle stiffness and involuntary spasms or twitches,…

I don’t have a Napoleon complex in the sense of being small. My body still spans 6 feet, though that’s only when I’m lying down; I doubt I get anywhere near 5 feet tall while seated in my wheelchair. Saint Jane (my wife) is 5-foot-2, and I now look…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Can noninvasive brain stimulation reduce MS spasticity? For a long time, I’ve had to deal with spasticity, a common…

Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may offer promise for treating spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS), but more work is needed to identify the best approach to use for patients, according to a new review study. The studies under review generally indicated that a type of brain stimulation called repetitive…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a pain in my butt — and other places, too. It hasn’t always been that way. For many years post-diagnosis, I didn’t notice much pain. But of the 43 years I’ve lived with MS, it’s hurt for the past 15. Usually, it’s just…

I am not left-handed! No, I’m not channeling Westley or Inigo from “The Princess Bride,” just clarifying a common — and fair — assumption. While I now do nearly everything left-handed, including eating, drinking, and even typing this column, my right hand was dominant for most of…

Treatment with the cannabis oral spray nabiximols helped to relieve spasticity — increased muscle stiffness and spasms common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — among participants in two MS clinical trials, according to the results of a new analysis. “In this analysis, nabiximols was shown to significantly…

Rehabilitation therapy that utilizes virtual reality can help to improve balance and reduce the fear of falling for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new analysis shows. “Our findings provide support to the use of [virtual reality-based therapy] to recover balance in neurological diseases such as MS,” researchers wrote.

Training of the pelvic muscles, provided alongside lifestyle advice via telerehabilitation — tailored exercise instruction delivered via an online video call — significantly reduced urinary symptoms in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), a controlled study showed. The use of pelvic floor muscle training or PFMT, which are exercises…

My exercise routine was first disrupted by the pandemic. Then Hurricane Ian landed a right hook on the exercise room in my Florida community, knocking it out of action. But not long after that, my thoughts were turning to something sweeter — pitchers and catchers returning to spring…

Real-world use of nabiximols, an oral spray cannabinoid treatment, was associated with a self-reported easing of spasticity and related symptoms for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study in Austria. Most patients (87.5%) said they were at least partly satisfied with the therapy — available…

Cannabis-based products are more likely to be used by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with higher levels of disability and pain than those with lesser disability or pain, according to a study of findings in Spain and France. This “may encourage health authorities to consider relaxing the barriers to cannabis use for…

I may not be able to turn in circles like a dog anymore, but I still have a few bedtime routines. Before I had an intrathecal baclofen pump, multiple sclerosis-induced spasticity would wake me up multiple times during the night. Whenever that happened, it was next to…

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and interferential currents (IFC) — both interventions apply electrical stimulation through electrodes placed on the skin — can help to ease pain in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results from a small clinical trial. Results suggested that, while both treatments can reduce…

Photo courtesy of Natalina Larsson Day 5 of 31 This is Natalina Larsson’s story: My name is Natalina. I’m 35 years old and live in Sweden. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in June 2021. My MS symptoms are balance difficulties, dizziness, physical fatigue, tremor, spasticity in…