NervGen Pharma announced plans to open clinical trials evaluating the potential of its lead candidate NVG-291 to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and spinal cord injury. NVG-291 is an investigational peptide that has shown an ability to stimulate nerve regeneration following an injury in several animal models of disease.
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Ofatumumab Better at Easing Relapse Rates and Slowing MS Progression Than Aubagio, Phase 3 Data Show Ofatumumab isn’t approved as a multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. It’s a cancer medication that’s marketed as Arzerra. But in two clinical trials reported here, it did better than Aubagio at treating MS. Its…
Brain inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) hijacks immature myelin repair cells, not only preventing myelin restoration but also promoting sustained inflammation and immune attacks against myelin, a preclinical study shows.
Higher levels of vitamin D in the blood may help to protect the myelin sheath, slowing damage to nerve cells in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a brain imaging study reports. The study, “Vitamin D and MRI measures in progressive multiple sclerosis,” was published in the…
Two new studies delve into the structure of SARM1, an enzyme that plays a key role in nerve cell degeneration, and are expected to aid the development of targeted therapies for neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and peripheral neuropathies. SARM1…
Our brains — much like our joints — stiffen with age, causing brain stem cells called oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) to lose their ability to proliferate and transform into oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin, an essential component for nerve cell communication, a study found. But tricking OPCs into sensing a…
SyntheticMR‘s SyMRI NEURO, a software package that can segment and measure myelin volume in the brain, is now available for use by radiologists in the U.S. through an agreement with Siemens Healthineers and its syngo.via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visualization platform, a press release states. SyMRI NEURO’s integrated software package…
The development of new medicines to treat myelin-related neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), has been given a boost by a €2.9 million (about $3.2 million) research grant awarded to the Belgian biotech company Rewind Therapeutics by…
Projection neurons, a specific type of nerve cell, are prone to damage in the brain of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and could be at the root of brain atrophy (shrinkage) and the cognitive changes seen in patients. Looking at individual cells in the brain, scientists found…
Convelo Therapeutics has announced a collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to work toward the development of new remyelination therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other myelin disorders. “We are excited to be working with Genentech to…
Treating people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) with opicinumab and Avonex (interferon beta-1a) for 72 weeks did not lead to a dose-dependent reduction in disability, results of a Phase 2 trial show. However, an ongoing study is evaluating opicinumab in a subgroup with better clinical responses.
A new study demonstrates that intracellular sigma peptide (ISP) can promote remyelination in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Importantly, this study was independent of NervGen, a pharmaceutical company that is developing an ISP-like compound — NVG-291 — for the treatment of nerve injury and MS. The study,…
NervGen wants to advance the development of NVG-291, its lead investigational therapy for spinal cord damage, as a potential remyelination treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), the company announced. Following preclinical data showing that NVG-291 promotes myelin repair and regeneration of damaged nerves in animal models of…
A protein leads to nerve fiber and myelin damage, particularly in progressive forms of multiple sclerosis, by activating brain immune cells called microglia, according to a new study. Its researchers also noted this protein is the target of experimental MS treatment called temelimab (GNbAC1), which showed potential in Phase 2 clinical trials. The…
Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “How the Blood Brain Barrier May Thwart MS Progression” from Feb. 9, 2017. What…
Exosomes — tiny vesicles secreted by cells — collected from bone marrow stem cells and injected into a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) helped to treat the disease, a study reports. Specifically, this treatment eased myelin loss and neuroinflammation in the mice, and improved motor function, the…
Treatment with Mayzent (siponomod) may reduce myelin deterioration by lessening the accumulation of immune cells in brain meninges, and preventing the migration of pro-inflammatory lymphocytes into the brain, according to a study in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). The research, “A Mouse Model of…
Giving estrogen to two different adult mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS), including the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, promoted remyelination, a new study shows. Exposure to the hormone affected gene activity in oligodendrocytes, tricking them into producing myelin (the fatty substance that protects nerve cells, and that is destroyed…
A subset of stem cells in hair follicles, called melanocytes, appear to do more than just give rise to mature melanocytes, cells that help to determine hair color. Those melanocyte stem cells, or McSCs, that carry the CD34 protein were found in hair follicles from mice to differentiate into glia cells…
Cellular senescence — the process of aging at the cellular level — may play a role in the development of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) by limiting the ability of myelin-producing cells (oligodendrocytes) to renew and mature. The study with that finding, “Cellular senescence in progenitor…
Researchers have developed a compound based on the thyroid hormone T3 that is able to repair damaged myelin in the brain of mice, a discovery that holds promise for healing myelin loss in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), results of an early study reveal.
Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), the cells responsible for myelin production, are unable to migrate into sites of myelin loss in the brain. These cells then cluster and disrupt the blood-brain barrier (BBB), triggering an inflammatory process in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. The study, “Aberrant oligodendroglial–vascular interactions disrupt the blood–brain barrier, triggering CNS inflammation,” was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. MS is an autoimmune disease characterized by the loss of myelin (demyelination) — the fat-rich substance that protects nerve fibers — which leads to neurodegeneration. Along with loss of myelin, researchers have observed that the blood-brain barrier — a highly selective membrane that shields the central nervous system with its cerebrospinal fluid from the general blood circulation — breaks down in the initial stages of disease. A team led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have now discovered that OPCs are involved in the disruption of the blood-brain barrier in MS, according to a press release from the National MS Society, which funded the study. Oligodendrocytes are myelin-producing cells and are responsible for myelinating the nerve cells’ axons — a single oligodendrocyte is capable of myelinating multiple axons. Mature myelin-producing oligodendrocytes develop from more immature, stem cell-like OPCs. In a normal brain, upon myelin loss, OPCs are called into action and travel into the damage site where they mature and generate myelin-producing oligodendrocytes. In this study, the researchers found that OPCs in MS form clusters in blood vessels of the brain-blood barrier, having lost the ability to detach from these vessels and migrate to injury sites. In an animal model of MS, they saw that OPC aggregates altered the location of other cells — called astrocytes — in a competition for space, and contributed to the disruption of blood vessels. Astrocytes are a group of star-shaped cells, belonging to the group of glial cells, that provide neurons with energy, and work as a platform to clean up their waste. They also have other functions within the brain, such as regulating blood flow and inflammation. The team also observed that OPC aggregates trigger an immune inflammatory response, shown by a large number of microglia (the central nervous system immune cells) and immune cells called macrophages around these cell clusters. “We find in several MS cases, in lesion areas with active inflammation, that OPCs can be found clustered on vasculature, representing a defect in single cell perivascular migration and inability to detach from blood vessels,” the researchers wrote. Further molecular analysis revealed that OPCs have high levels of Wnt signaling, and elevated secretion of Wif1 factor to the extracellular space that could explain why OPCs accumulate and destroy the blood-brain barrier. The WiF1 factor is actually a negative regulator of Wnt signaling that is essential for the maintenance of the blood-brain barrier structure. This factor competes with Wnt ligands, and affects the integrity of cellular junctions, making the blood-brain barrier more fragile and permeable. "Evidence for this defective oligodendroglial–vascular interaction in MS suggests that aberrant OPC perivascular migration not only impairs their lesion recruitment but can also act as a disease perpetuator via disruption of the BBB,” the researchers wrote. They suggested that more studies are needed to better understand the interactions between blood vessels and oligodendrocytes, which could help identify new therapeutic targets for promoting myelin repair in MS.
A protein that promotes nervous system repair through remyelination — the creation of myelin, the protective sheath around nerve cells — in mice also is found in remyelinating plaques in brains of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, new research shows. This protein potentially represents a new therapeutic target in demyelinating…
Cleveland Clinic Neurologist Applauds Mayzent’s FDA Approval, But Surprised by Those It May Not Treat When I wrote my “MS Wire” column a few days after Mayzent’s approval, I wondered why the FDA had OK’d the medication for active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), but not…
A shortened DNA molecule showed an increased ability to bind myelin in human cells, and may boost the development of remyelination approaches for multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment, according to a study. The study, “Optimization of a 40-mer Antimyelin DNA Aptamer Identifies a 20-mer with Enhanced Properties…
Two-year treatment with temelimab reduced brain atrophy, or shrinkage, preserved myelin, and reduced disease progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to findings from an extension study of a Phase 2b clinical trial. Temelimab, previously known as GNbAC1, is a monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the MS-associated human…
Podocalyxin, a protein found in cells lining the interior of blood vessels, is key for maintaining the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in mice with systemic infection, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. Disruption of the…
Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “New MS Therapy Company to Focus on Rejuvenating Coating…
In mapping the immune system of the brain in mice and humans, scientists in Germany found that microglia — a type of nerve cell located in the central nervous system and responsible for supporting and protecting neurons — share the same core design, but behave differently depending on the specific function each…
Previously unknown immune cell subtypes are present in the inflamed brain of mice models of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. According to the researchers, these subsets of myeloid cells (cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow) can offer a strong basis for therapeutic targets in neuroinflammatory and…