June 1, 2020 News by Mary Chapman FDA Updates Rebif Label on Pregnancy and Breastfeeding for MS Patients TheĀ U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved adding new safety data on pregnancy and breastfeeding to the U.S. label for Rebif (interferon beta-1a), a disease-modifying treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The label update draws on findings from a large population-based study, together with…
April 6, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Biogen’s Plegridy or Avonex Use Possible in Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, FDA Says Plegridy (peginterferon beta-1a) and Avonex (interferon beta-1a), both by Biogen, may be used ā if necessary ā by women with relapsingĀ multiple sclerosisĀ who are pregnant or breastfeeding, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in updating prescribing informationĀ for these MS treatments. Due to the limited…
February 28, 2020 News by Ana Pena PhD #ACTRIMS2020 – Pregnancies and Menopause Affect Age of Progressive MS Onset Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have never given birth and those who began menopause prematurely tend to develop progressive forms of the disease earlier, a study from theĀ Mayo ClinicĀ suggests. These findings were presented at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum…
February 12, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Rituximab Appears Safe for Women to Use While Breastfeeding, Small Study Finds RituximabĀ is barely detected in breast milk of women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who took the therapy while breastfeeding their child, small study shows. Results suggest that women with RRMS can continue with a disease-modifying treatment while breastfeeding. The study āMinimal breast milk transfer of…
January 13, 2020 News by Mary Chapman MyHealthTeams, EMD Serono Launch Online Family Planning Resource Center for MS Patients To empower and support prospective mothers withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), MyHealthTeams ā a free social network for people with chronic medical conditions ā and pharmaceutical EMD Serono have launched the onlineĀ Family Planning Resource Center. The new center operates within the network’s MyMSTeam, and is sponsored in…
January 8, 2020 News by Catarina Silva Using Interferon-beta While Pregnant Does Not Influence Child Size at Birth, MS Study Finds Treatment with interferon-beta therapy during pregnancy in women withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) does not influence childrenās gestational age, birth weight, length, or head size, researchers report. The study with those findings, āThe association between exposure to interferon-beta during pregnancy and birth measurements in offspring of women with…
November 20, 2019 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Pregnancy Does Not Change Long-term Course of MS, New Data Suggest Pregnancy does not lead to long-term changes in the disease course ofĀ multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), new research suggests. This work, which emphasizes the importance of careful data analysis, supports studies disputing previous beliefs that pregnancy worsened or lessened the long-term disease course of MS. The findings were presented by Mar Tintore,…
September 24, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Interferon Beta Use by Pregnant and Breastfeeding Patients OK, Office in Europe Says If necessary, women with relapsing multiple sclerosis can continue treatments based on interferon beta while pregnant and breastfeeding, according to an updated recommendation by an office of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Interferon beta-based treatments are a mainstay of approved MS therapies. Three specific treatments were mentioned in press…
September 17, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Tysabri During Pregnancy and After Delivery Seems Safe, Reduces Relapse Risk, Study Finds Continuing Tysabri (natalizumab) treatment up to week 28 of pregnancy, and restarting soon after birth, reduces the risk of relapses in women with multiple sclerosis and appears to be safe for the mother and the baby, new research suggests. Doriana Landi, MD, PhD, from Italy’s University of…
September 11, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 ā MS Patients Should Be Informed about Pregnancy Risks and Family Planning, Experts Say While pregnancy does not appear to affect the disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS), questions remain about the best time to stop or resume treatment before conception and after delivery, the safety of new medications, and the importance of family planning. Pregnancy was the “hot topic” discussion today…
June 14, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD ‘Pregnancy Compensation Hypothesis’ May Explain Greater MS Risk for Women A mismatch ā between the ancestral immune function changes induced by the placenta and fewer modern-day pregnancies ā may help explain the greater risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases in women in industrialized societies, according to a new study. The shift toward a sedentary lifestyle may…
May 10, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM – Interferon Beta Exposure Does Not Seem to Increase Risk of Pregnancy Complications, Study Suggests Exposure to interferon beta does not seem to increase the risk of complications during pregnancy in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests. The data were presented in an oral presentation, “Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes with Interferon Beta: Data from the European Interferon Beta Pregnancy Registry and MS…
May 8, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM – Research Suggests Misconceptions About MS Risk in Pregnant Women New research suggests that even though pregnant women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are often viewed as high risk by their physicians, pregnancy Ā does not seem to increase the likelihood of adverse obstetrical outcomes for those patients or their babies. The research was presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting…
April 9, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Menstruation Onset, Pregnancies and Breastfeeding Habits Don’t Influence MS Risk, Study Suggests A woman’s age at her first menstruation, or becoming pregnant and breastfeeding does not substantially influence the long-term risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) or the risk of increased disability, a study of a large number of patients withĀ clinically isolated syndrome…
March 12, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #AANAM ā Risk of MS Relapses Not Increased Right After Giving Birth, Study Suggests Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) do not experience more relapses right after giving birth, as previously believed, according to a preliminary study. The study also revealed that mothers with MS who breastfeed their babies have a lower relapse risk compared with those who do not breastfeed. The data, ā…
March 6, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #ACTRIMS2019 – Women Lack Guidance About Pregnancy After MS Diagnosis, Survey Says Women diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) say they lack guidance regarding family planning, pregnancy, and breastfeeding, according to a survey. Sixteen percent of those women also reported they didnāt become pregnant due to MS-related concerns. Casey E. Engel, Ā clinical researcher at Weill Cornell Medical CollegeĀ in New York, Ā presented the…
January 15, 2019 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc UK Experts Propose New Guidelines to Treat Women with MS Before, During, After Pregnancy Multiple sclerosis (MS) experts in the United Kingdom have proposed consensus guidelines for the management and treatment of pregnant women with the disease, and couples affected by MS who are planning a pregnancy. The new guidelines are expected to reduce uncertainty about treatments that are considered to be safe and…
November 8, 2018 News by Santiago Gisler Pregnancy Briefly Lowers MS Relapse Rates and Treatment Reliance, Real-world Study Shows Relapse rates in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) decline during pregnancy, as does the use of disease-modifying therapies, before both adjust to pre-pregnancy levels again, a large U.S. study based on real-world data shows. The study, āRelapses and disease-modifying drug treatment in pregnancy and live birth…
October 16, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #ECTRIMS2018 – Study Examines Relapses When Stopping Gilenya During, After Pregnancy Up to half of women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who stop treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) when planning to become pregnant will experience a relapse during pregnancy, according to a new study. The findings also revealed relapses over the first six months after giving birth in a quarter of…
October 10, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc #ECTRIMS2018 ā Merck KGaA to Present Latest Data on MS Portfolio Merck KGaA will present the latest advances made on several of its therapies aiming to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) at the 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research In Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). The conference is taking place through Friday in Berlin. The company, known as…
October 9, 2018 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Pregnancy Rates Rise Among Women with MS Over Past Decade in US, Study Shows In recent years, pregnancy rates have increased among women with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States, according to a retrospective study, but the rate of pregnancy complications is similar between women with MS and those who don’t have the disease. The study, “Pregnancy rates and outcomes in…
August 1, 2018 News by Diogo Pinto Pregnancy Worsens Symptoms in MS Patients, Study Finds Pregnancy, including successful delivery or miscarriage, worsensĀ symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as onset of the disease, a retrospective study shows. Researchers found the same effect of pregnancy on neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), an inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system characterized by demyelination and damage of…
July 25, 2018 News by Vijaya Iyer, PhD Despite Increased Lesions, No Brain Atrophy Seen in RRMS Patients After Childbirth, Study Reports In women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), there is a significant increase in brain lesion volume after pregnancy, but it is not accompanied by aĀ loss of brain cells, a study suggests. Conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School, the study, āQuantitative MRI analysis of cerebral lesions and…
May 4, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Fracking Chemicals May Lead to Earlier Onset, More Severe MS, Mouse Study Suggests Exposure to fracking chemicals during pregnancy may aggravate multiple sclerosis (MS) severity and induce an earlier start of symptoms, a new study in mice suggests. The study, āDevelopmental Exposure to a Mixture of 23 Chemicals Associated With Unconventional Oil and Gas Operations Alters the Immune System…
April 30, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #AAN2018 – New AAN Guideline Favors Advising Patients to Use DMTs Early in Disease Course A new American Academy of Neurology (AAN) guideline recommends that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in general be counseled to start treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as early as possible. Considerations on switching and stopping treatments are also presented in the guideline. The report, āPractice guideline recommendations…
April 3, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Pain Treatment During Labor Does Not Increase Risk of MS Relapses After Delivery, Study Finds A certain type of pain-relief treatment during childbirth does not increase the risk that women with multiple sclerosisĀ will have relapses after delivering, a European study reports. The research involved treatments called neuraxial analgesia, so the scientists titled their studyĀ āNeuraxial analgesia is not associated with an increased risk of…
February 14, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Italian Study Examines Tysabri and Risk for Miscarriage and Birth Defects Pregnant women with multiple sclerosis (MS) exposed to Tysabri (natalizumab) in the first trimester had higher rates of miscarriage and major birth defects in their babies, than women left untreated or treated with interferon beta, a study shows. Although higher, these rates were similar to those in the general…
February 1, 2018 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Plaque, PRV, Placebo, and Other ‘P’ Words (Part 5 of 7) Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this column referencing terms starting with the letter “P.” This column is fifth in a series of seven. Symptoms of MS Plaque This is one of the common…
October 27, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – MS Therapy Aubagio Does Not Appear to Cause Birth Defects, Study Reports Sanofi Genzyme’sĀ multiple sclerosis therapyĀ Aubagio (teriflunomide) does not appear to cause birth defects in humans as it does in laboratory animals, researchers concluded after studying more than 100 pregnant women with MS. Their research indicated that birth-defectĀ findings in rats and rabbits do not translate to humans. The team presented its…
October 27, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – Researchers Suggest Best Time to Stop Tysabri During Pregnancy Babies born to women who are treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) during pregnancy are more likely to develop abnormal blood cell counts if the treatment continues beyond week 30 of pregnancy. Since more relapses occurred in women who quit the treatment before this time, researchers from the Ludwig Maximilian University…