November 8, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS High blood NfL levels predict greater MS disability in year or two: Study Elevated blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), an established biomarker of nerve damage, are associated with a higher risk of near-term disability worsening in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a large study. Findings imply that there’s usually a window of time ā about a year or…
May 15, 2023 News by Patricia Valerio, PhD More nerve damage in MS linked to increased microglia activation Increased activation of microglia, the resident immune cells in the brain that contribute to chronic inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS), is significantly associated with higher levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein, indicating more nerve damage, a study found. Researchers particularly identified strong links between…
March 3, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS ACTRIMS 2023: Ibudilast did not lift life quality in progressive MS trial Treatment with the experimental oral therapy ibudilast (MN-166) does not significantly improve quality-of-life measures compared with a placebo among people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. Analyses from the trial suggest that a marker of nerve damage…
January 12, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Quanterix Poised to Launch Test That Monitors NfL Levels Quanterix Corporation‘s laboratory test designed to measure blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) has been validated by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), an arm of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that regulates laboratory testing. The company now is planning to launch its laboratory developed test,…
August 5, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD No Neuron Damage Increase With 6-week Switch to Tysabri: Study Switching from a standard monthly course of Tysabri (natalizumab) to an extended-interval dosing administered every six weeks does not seem to increase neuronal damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. While individual blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, did…
July 5, 2022 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Estriol Plus Copaxone May Protect Against Nerve Damage in RRMS Taking the pregnancy hormone estriol in combination with Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) significantly reduced the blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) ā a marker of nerve damage ā in women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), clinical trial data show. These lower NfL levels were significantly associated with a…
May 2, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: PoNS, MS Survey, Nerve Damage Biomarker, Tolebrutinib PoNS Device for MS-associated Gait Problems Now Available in US One clinical trial showed that MS patients who used the portable neuromodulation stimulator (PoNS) device as part of an exercise program had greater improvements in gait than those using only the exercise program. A second trial showed that those…
April 28, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Blood Biomarker Test Granted Breakthrough Device Status by FDA Quanterixās ultra-sensitive blood test that measures a biomarker of nerve damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been granted a breakthrough device designation by U.S. regulators. It is thought that the test, which employs the companyās Simoa technology, can accurately predict the risk of disease activity in…
April 25, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD In Relapsing MS, NfL Levels Help in Disease Progression Prediction Serum levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) ā proteins found in nerve cell projections ā can help in the prediction of disease progression among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an analysis of data from two large Phase 3 trials. The researchers said that NfL…
April 12, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD New Blood Biomarker Technology May Help to Predict MS Activity Simoa, a technology that detects relevant molecules in samples with up to 1,000 times greater sensitivity than conventional methods, has helped to advance research into a blood biomarker expected to predict future disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Specifically, Quanterix‘s ultra-sensitive technology allowed an international team…
March 7, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Stem Cell Therapy NG-01 Shows Neuroprotective Effects in Trial Administering the stem cell therapy NG-01 ā designed to have neuroprotective and neuro-regenerative properties ā directly into the spinal canal can significantly reduce the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a neuronal damage biomarker, in people with active, progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). These are the new…
March 4, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2022 ā Blood NfL Levels May Help Quantify Relapse Severity Measuring levels of the neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein in blood may be a way to “quantify” relapse severity and predict future disability in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). “Higher [blood] NfL levels during periods of active inflammation predicted more [brain] atrophy,” researchers wrote in an abstract titled…
February 28, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: aHSCT, Skin Cancer, Spasticity, NfL Blood Test #ACTRIMS2022 ā Immune System āResetā by Stem Cell Transplant At the University of Ottawa, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) has been used to treat people with aggressive MS since the early 2000s, MS News Today‘s Marisa Wexler reports. This study, which reviewed 71 patients during that period, reports…
February 23, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS NfL Blood Test May Help Predict MS Activity, Treatment Response Levels of a protein called neurofilament light chain (NfL) in the blood can be used to predict the risk of future disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. The results also suggest that changes in NfL levels could be used to deduce the extent…
January 14, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Epstein-Barr Virus May Be Leading Cause of MS, Raising Risk by 32 Times Infection with the common Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) increases the risk of developingĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) by 32 times ā the strongest link yet ā according to a study looking at two decades of data from more than 10 million U.S. military members. āThe hypothesis that EBV causes MS has been…
November 11, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS sNfL Levels Linked to Relapse-free Disability Progression, Move to SPMS Measuring levels of the protein serum neurofilament light chain (NfL)Ā can help to identify people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) at higher risk of relapse-free disability progression or conversion to secondary-progressive disease, according to a study from Germany. The study, “NfL predicts relapse-free progression in a longitudinal…
October 6, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ECTRIMS2021 ā Trial Analyses Support Evobrutinib for Relapsing MS Treatment with evobrutinib, an experimental therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), reduced the size of inflammation-associated brain lesions in a Phase 2 clinical trial, data show. The oral medication was also found to be generally safe and well tolerated, according to an analysis of trial data in…
September 2, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Combo of Biomarkers Predict Future Disease Activity In people with early-stage multiple sclerosis (MS), the presence of high levels of neurofilament light chain (sNfL) protein in the bloodstream combined with thinning of the retina is a strong indicator of future disease activity, a recent study demonstrates. āOur findings encourage the application of both sNfL and retinal…
August 3, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Trials Support NfL Levels as Marker of Disease Activity in Relapsing MS Larger declines with treatment in blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a marker of nerve cell damage, are associated with fewer brain lesions, less brain shrinkage, and lower relapse rates in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), a study reported. These results, based on a post-hoc analysis…
April 20, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM ā Measuring Blood Proteins Could Predict Disability in SPMS Editorās note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17ā22. GoĀ here to read the latest stories from the conference. Among people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) without active disease, high blood levels of the…
January 22, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD SERPINA3 Nerve Injury-induced Protein May Be Biomarker of PPMS People with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) have significantly higher levels of a nerve injury-induced protein, called SERPINA3, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) than do those with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and those without the neurodegenerative disease, a study shows. Of note, the CSF is the liquid that bathes…
January 7, 2021 News by Diana Campelo Delgado CXCL13, Inflammatory Marker, May Be Good at Predicting Likely MS Activity CXCL13, an inflammatory biomarker, may be a good marker of likely future disease activity in people with multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), a study suggests. The study, āIntrathecally produced CXCL13: A predictive biomarker in multiple sclerosis,ā was published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal ā Experimental, Translational and Clinical. Clinicians caring…
November 11, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Additional Group of RRMS Patients Sought to Take Lower Dose of IMU-838 in Phase 2 Trial Immunic Therapeutics is seeking 60 more adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) to test a lower dose of IMU-838, its leading oral experimental therapy, in its ongoing Phase 2 EMPhASIS trial. The decision was based on previous trial results showing that both doses tested (30 and 45 mg…
September 23, 2020 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS Siemens Healthineers, Novartis Partner to Develop NfL Diagnostic Test The development of a diagnostic test using neurofilament light chain (NfL) ā a biomarker for nerve cell damage ā for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) will be part of a collaboration program between Siemens HealthineersĀ and Novartis. The goal of this new collaboration is to design, develop,…
July 29, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD CHI3L1 Protein Levels May Mark Neurologic Disability in PPMS, Study Suggests Levels of a protein linked to inflammation and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) ā called chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) ā may prove to be a cerebrospinal fluidĀ biomarker of neurologic disability in primary progressive MS (PPMS), a pilot study suggests. Higher CHI3L1 levels at PPMS diagnosis showed a…
July 15, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD High Levels of NfL Protein Linked to Disability, Faster Disease Progression in MS High levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein circulating in the blood of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at an early stage of the disease are linked to higher disability and faster disease progression, a study has found. According to researchers, these findings suggest that NfL ā a…
May 27, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Higher Blood NfL Levels Predict Worse Disability Over Time in MS, Study Suggests Higher blood levels of theĀ neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein at diagnosis are predictive of worse disability over time in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a large population study from Sweden suggests. The study, “Plasma neurofilament light levels are associated with the risk of disability in…
April 1, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD Blood Levels of Nerve Cell Protein Likely Marker of Brain Injury to Come A nerve cell protein found in the blood shows potential as a biomarker of neuroinflammation and future neurodegeneration in the early stages ofĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. The protein, called serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL), is a known marker of injury to axons (nerve…
March 11, 2020 News by Ana Pena PhD Blood NfL Potential Marker of MS Therapies’ Effectiveness, Study Suggests Starting treatment with aĀ disease-modifying therapy (DMT) reduces blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) ā a potential biomarker of disease progression and activity ā to varying degrees depending on the therapy used, according to a large real-world study of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The findings support…
November 7, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Siemens Healthineers Joins with Quanterix to Develop Blood Tests for NfL Levels Siemens Healthineers has signed a license and supply agreement with Quanterix that helps it in developing blood tests for neurofilament light chain (NfL) to aid in early disease detection, evidence of progression, and measuring treatment response in people with neurological disorders such asĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). Siemens Healthineers…