MS treatment

Immune signatures may predict MS course, treatment response

Researchers have identified three distinct immune signatures in the blood of people with early multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā that seem to be linked to specific disease trajectories and response to treatment, potentially offering a path to personalized care. ā€œThese findings represent a pivotal shift towards precision medicine in MS,ā€ Heinz Wiendl,…

Briumvi, an infusion treatment for MS, granted 3 more patents

TG Therapeutics has secured three additional U.S. patents for Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy), an anti-CD20 antibody that’s been approved to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent numbers 11,807,689; 11,814,439; and 11,884,740 specifically cover the composition and…

Early Use of Tysabri Treatment Linked to Greater Benefits

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who started taking Tysabri (natalizumab) long after their diagnosis were found to have worsened disease progression. But those who began using it earlier showed less aggravated clinical and radiological outcomes of the disease than participants who started treatment later, a study showed. The study,…

Researchers Hit a Bump on the BTK Inhibitor Road

A little over a year ago, I wrote about whether Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi’s) might be the next big thing in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments. BTKi’s are small molecules that selectively block an enzyme thatā€™s important for the activation of B-cells in the immune system and…

My Right Arm Is Going to Look Really Young

I’ve just received four intramuscular Botox injections in my right arm to relieve the muscle spasticity that comes with multiple sclerosis. (OK, it wasnā€™t actually Botox, but Dysport, or abobotulinumtoxinA, another medication derived from the botulinum toxin to block muscle contractions.) And “my right arm is going…

The Drugs Do Work … Better Than My Right Hand

Last weekend a mother brought 4,000Ā£ ($5,200 U.S.) of medicinal cannabis from Holland into the U.K. for her daughter with severe epilepsy. It was confiscated by customs. Last year medicinal cannabis was partially legalized in the U.K. when a similar incident happened. Doctors can now issue prescriptions.

Is Ocrevus Right for Me? So Close, Yet So Far

History has been made because of a major breakthrough for multiple sclerosis sufferers everywhere. Ocrevus (ocrelizumab),Ā by Genentech, has been finally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is the first drug treatment that includes my type of MS, primary progressive. This is what I’ve…