neuroprotection

Restoring ‘lost’ pathway of neuroprotection benefits MS mice

Treatment with the neuroprotective protein HB-EGF eased inflammation and promoted tissue recovery across various disease stages in a multiple sclerosis (MS) mouse model, recent research suggests. Researchers found that HB-EGF is produced by astrocytes, a type of nerve support cell, to ease acute inflammation early on, but this protective…

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…

CALLIPER Trial for Progressive MS Enrolls First Patient

Immunic Therapeutics has enrolled the first patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial testing its oral therapy candidate IMU-838 for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The trial, CALLIPER (NCT05054140), is expected to run in parallel to the companyā€™s two identically-designed Phase 3 trials, dubbed…

Long-term IFN-Beta Treatment Normalizes Immune Balance in RRMS, Study Shows

Long-term treatment with interferon beta (IFN-beta) corrects the defective immune balance characteristic of people withĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS), a study has found. The study also identified more than 200 genes with significantly different activity between complete and partial responders to IFN-beta treatment, which could be used to identify which…

Blocking LRP1 May Halt Inflammation, Promote Remyelination, Mouse Study Suggests

Blocking production of the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) ā€” involved in inflammatory and immune responses ā€” specifically in myelinĀ repair cells halts neuroinflammation and promotes myelin repair, a preclinical study shows. These results, fromĀ two mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS), shed light on the underlying mechanisms…

#ECTRIMS2018 – GNbAC1 Shows Consistent Neuroprotection in RRMS Patients, Phase 2b Study Reports

TreatingĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with GeNeuroā€™s investigational compound GNbAC1 lessened brain atrophy and lesion load and suggested myelin preservation, according to results of a Phase 2b study. Importantly, monthly intravenous GNbAC1 administration for 48 weeks also had neuroprotective effects in the studyā€™s inactive population, which refers…

#MSParis2017 – Aerobic Exercise Seen to Quickly Strengthen Brain Connections in Patients

Aerobic exercise strengthens brain connections in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, Jan-Patrick Stellmann, with University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, reported at theĀ 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting in Paris that ran from Oct. 25ā€“28. According to Stellmann, "aerobic exercises are considered to improve mobility, fatigue, depression and cognition in MS," and also to "promote neuroprotective or neuroregenerative mechanisms." For the study, the team used MRI to examine how exercise affected different types of brain connections. They recruited 57 RRMS patients and 30 healthy controls to the study. Women made up more than two-thirds of the patient group, which had a mean age of 39. Patients only had mild disability, with a mean score of 1.5 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale. Researchers randomly assigned about half the group to a supervised and individually adapted aerobic exercise program, consisting of 22 sessions of up to one hour each. Others were assigned to a waiting list ā€” with the intent of taking up exercise after three months ā€” and served as a control group. MRI scans at the study's beginning revealed that patients had more so-called functional connections, but fewer structural ones, than healthy controls. It is known from earlier studies that most RRMS patients show abnormalities in functional connections, but some researchers find increases while others decreases in these connections. Functional and structural connections appear on different types of MRI scans ā€” ones that make use either of blood flow changes or of the properties of water molecules in the white matter of the brain. The deviations were particularly pronounced in highly connected hub regions, the researchers said. After three months, functional connections increased across the entire brain among exercising patients, but decreased in those on the waiting list. Structural connections also increased among patients who exercised, while no change was detected among control patients. Researchers also noted that exercising patients grew more local connections, mostly in hub regions, compared to those who did not exercise. While it is generally accepted that aerobic exercise promotes neuroprotective and regenerative processes within the brain, the study demonstrated that exercise, in only three months, did indeed affect how the brain is wired. "Short-term aerobic exercise increases functional and structural connectivity,"Ā Stellmann concluded. "Already after three months, exercise lead to functional and structural reorganization of brain networks." The researcher highlighted the difficulties in obtaining financial support for trials on exercise. And he emphasized that patients should be encouraged by their doctors to exercise regularly.

CHANGE-MS Phase 2 Study Fully Enrolled Early, Results Due in Fall

GeNeuro recently announced that it has finished enrolling multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the CHANGE-MS Phase 2b Ā studyĀ ā€” several months ahead of schedule.Ā The company nowĀ expects to reportĀ topline results in mid- to late autumn rather than at year’s end. ā€œCompleting enrollment in CHANGE-MS several months sooner than previously anticipated…

To Fight MS, Drink Four Cups of Coffee a Day?

Ready to fight MS? Well, you can start first thing every day. So, how do you start your day ā€” a coffee maybe, or a great cup of tea? Tea is my choice but I also enjoy a magnificent cup of Spanish coffee. According to a number of recent studies,Ā coffeeĀ and…

MS-related Nerve Damage May Be Treatable with Anti-Seizure Drug

Researchers from the University College London (UCL)Ā found that the anti-convulsant drug phenytoin protected neural tissue in patients with optic neuritis ā€” often the first symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā ā€”Ā a conditionĀ thatĀ causes the nerves carrying information between the eyes and the brain to become inflamed and progressively damaged. The study…

Failure of Brain Development in Early MS Suggests Need for Neuroprotection

Researchers from Canada and the U.S. have found that brains of young people with multiple sclerosis fail to develop fully. The article appeared November 5, 2014 in the journal NeurologyĀ entitled, “Onset of multiple sclerosis before adulthood leads to failure of age-expected brain growth.” Multiple sclerosis is caused…