March 19, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Ocrevus May Delay by 7 Years PPMS Patients’ Need for Wheelchair Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) treatment may delay the need for a wheelchair by seven years in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosisĀ (PPMS), a study reports. This delay, drawn from clinical trial data on treatment- versus placebo-group patients and supported by real-world findings, likely translates to long-term benefits for PPMS patients,…
September 21, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Pregnancy Delays Likely MS Onset by About 3 Years, Large Study Finds After a pregnancy or childbirth, most women who went on to develop clinically isolated syndrome (CIS)Ā did so about three years later than those who were never pregnant, a large and multicenter study reported. Multiple pregnancies or births, however, were not seen to further affect CIS onset. More research is…
October 10, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #ECTRIMS2018 – Switching to Tysabri Leads to Fewer Relapses and Disability than Gilenya, Study in RRMS Patients Finds Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who switch to Tysabri (natalizumab) after relapses on first-line treatment with other medications show greater relapse reduction and less disability progression than those switching to Gilenya (fingolimod), according to a real-world study. The research, āComparative effectiveness of switching…
October 10, 2018 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2018 – DMTs Slow Down Disability Progression in SPMS Patients with Ongoing Relapses, Analysis Shows Treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may benefit patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who are actively experiencing relapses, as they can slow the disability’s worsening, a new analysis of an MS patient registry shows. Patients…
July 5, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc MSBase, Icometrix Collaborate on Global Imaging Project to Understand MS Progression MSBase and icometrix have joined efforts in a large-scale project to identify imaging markers of multiple sclerosis (MS) that could help diagnose the disease in its early stages. The combination of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) information collected from MS patients with clinical information from the MSBase Registry can offer new insights in disease progression, potentially leading to new predictive tools for MS. It may also promote more standardized use of imaging measures in clinical practice. With more than 52,000 MS patients, the MSBase Registry is an international database committed to collecting patientsā information as well as sharing, tracking and evaluating overall outcome data in MS and other neurological conditions. Until now, the MSBase Registry included only descriptive information regarding patients' imaging analysis results, with no access to full imaging data. This joint, large-scale project will include MRI scan data routinely acquired in clinical setting taking advantage of icometrixās software platform, MSmetrix. āWe wish to unlock the power of MRI for personalized monitoring in MS," Helmut Butzkueven, director of MSBase, said in a press release. "The MSBase Scientific Leadership group has selected MRI integration as the top strategic priority for MSBase. We believe that already conducted MRI scans represent an enormous missed opportunity, because advanced measurements to assess change over time from these scans are not currently in practical use.ā Butzkueven said MSBase "will test the predictive power of this unlocking of MRI data in the first phase," with a total of 10,000 MRI data points in at least 3,000 MS patients from all over the world. The project is expected to identify disease progression markers that could help detect early signs of MS by MRI evaluation. This investigator-initiated collaboration between icometrix and the MSBase Foundation is being supported by three global pharmaceutical giants: Novartis, Biogen and Roche. āMRI measures play an essential part in the complex puzzle of MS,ā said Danny Bar Zohar, global head of neuroscience development at Novartis. āPartnering with MS Base and icometrix in this exciting project will bring the acquisition of high-quality real world data to the next level, ultimately improving the outcome of people living with MS.ā
February 18, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD ACTRIMS Session on MS Progression to Emphasize Continuing Treatment of Advancing Disease The Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2016 starts today, Feb. 18, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and runs through Saturday, Feb. 20. The opening day’sĀ Session 1, titled “Emerging Concepts in MS,” placesĀ special focus onĀ cutting-edge studies onĀ the pathogenic mechanisms in multiple sclerosis (MS), new measures of…