September 20, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Patient enrollment is complete in Phase 1 trial of ANK-700 for RRMS Anokion has finished enrolling patients in the second part of its Phase 1 clinical trial investigating ANK-700 for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Safety data so far from the MoveS-it trial (NCT04602390) has shown the treatment is safe and well tolerated and biomarker analyses suggest it can induce…
September 13, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Disability after RRMS diagnosis may predict transition to SPMS Greater self-reported physical disability within the first years of being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a higher likelihood of transitioning to a progressive form of the disease. The finding comes from a recent analysis of patient-reported data from the U.K. MS Register. Scientists believe the…
April 10, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Immune regulation treatment for MS found safe in 1st human study OCH, a molecule designed to have beneficial effects on immune regulation in multiple sclerosis (MS), led to increases in regulatory immune cell subsets and immunomodulatory gene activity in healthy volunteers and MS patients. That’s according to data from a first-in-human study of the compound, which also found the immune…
August 10, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah How Paw-fect Pets Improve Life With Chronic Illness Having grown up in the countryside, I’ve been around animals my entire life. We always had dogs and cats, and I learned how to ride horses. It was tranquil and storybook. When I left home to take a trip or attend university, I experienced a void only the animals in…
August 1, 2022 News by Hawken Miller Project Aims to ‘Bridge the Gap’ in Care Disparities for Latinos With MS When Sarah Garcia was diagnosed with the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis (MS) at age 13, she didnāt know any other young Latino women with the neurodegenerative disorder. Garcia grew up in a tight-knit Hispanic community in Socorro, Texas, near El Paso. Most of her doctors were white,…
July 14, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Yoga Course Found to Ease Fatigue, Anxiety in MS Patients in Study A six-week program combining yoga and group discussions about resilience led to significant reductions in fatigue and anxiety, and improvements in well-being, for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results from a pilot study. Researchers noted that the program, known asĀ LoveYourBrain Yoga, “may improve a range of…
June 29, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah Managing Fatigue and Other Vacation Tips for People With MS āA holiday is an opportunity to journey within.ā ā Prabhas Last week was only my second weeklong holiday since my relapsing-remitting MS diagnosis in 2017. My husband and I have had weekend getaways here and there, mainly to visit family. Of course, COVID-19 has placed a huge restriction…
June 13, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Evusheld, Immunotherapy, Blood Test, Aubagio Evusheld Boosts Antibodies Against COVID-19 in Vaccinated Patients Research has shown that the COVID-19 vaccines have been effective for people being treated with disease-modifying therapies, except for those that target B-cells, such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), Kesimpta (ofatumumab), and Rituxan (rituximab). If this very small study of 18 people proves…
May 3, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Tysabri Every 6 Weeks Found as Effective as Standard 4-week Dosing Tysabri (natalizumab) given every six weeks was found to be similarly effective as the standard four-week dosing schedule at stopping nervous system damage in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). That’s according to the full results of the Phase 3b NOVA clinical trial, which compared Tysabri dosing schedules…
April 27, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Kesimpta Now Reimbursable for Patients in 2 Canadian Provinces Kesimpta (ofatumumab) is now accessible to eligible Canadians with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) through public drug plans in Ontario and Quebec. The treatment has been included as an exceptional medication under both the Ontario Drug Benefit Exceptional Access Program and the RĆ©gie de lāassurance maladie du QuĆ©bec. This…
March 16, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS BCG Vaccine for TB Not Linked to MS Risk: Large Canadian Study Getting the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine to protect against tuberculosis (TB) ā an immunization often given to infants and small children in countries where TB is common ā does not decrease a person’s risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. “Within a large birth cohort…
March 14, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Keto Diet, Milk and MS, Disability Progression, Neural Sleeve Ketogenic Diet Eases Symptoms, Aids Life Quality in Small RRMS Study This new report says that a ketogenic diet might help people with MS. It’s certainly helped my wife lose weight, but will it help my symptoms? I wondered about that in a recent ‘MS Wire’ column.
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 17, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Fatigue Severity in MS Predicted by Shrinkage of Certain Brain Regions Lower-than-normal volumes of certain brain regions at disease onset ā indicating shrinkage, or atrophy, in those regions ā are significantly associated with current and future fatigue severity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study in Germany shows. Some of these regions also were found to be central brain…
January 26, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD After Pregnancy, Women Show More Brain Lesions, Volume Loss Women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have more brain lesions and accelerated brain volume loss (BVL) after pregnancy compared with pre-pregnancy measurements, recent data showed. Brain lesions in the early postpartum period ā the first months following childbirth āĀ were associated with a higher risk of worsened disability and relapse…
October 12, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Medsenic Being Granted US Patent for Arscimed for RRMS The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will grant Medsenic a patent covering the use of Arscimed, its investigational formulation of arsenic trioxide, for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS). Once issued, the patent will protect Arscimed’s use for this indication until 2037. This will add to the already…
June 21, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Results: Ponvory Outperforms Aubagio in OPTIMUM Clinical Trial In the OPTIMUM clinical trial,Ā Ponvory (ponesimod) significantly outperformed Aubagio (teriflunomide) in reducing relapse rates, fatigue, and evidence of brain damage among people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Based on these results, Ponvory has now been approved in the U.S. and the European Union as a treatment…
July 8, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Switch from Tysabri to Ocrevus Seen as Safe, Effective in RRMS Patients in Small Study Switching to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) within a relatively short period is a safe and effective option for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) who stop treatment withĀ TysabriĀ (natalizumab), a small and retrospective analysis suggests. With a median washout period of six weeks between therapies, the 28 patients in this study…
August 11, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Improving Confidence of RRMS Patients May Enhance Quality of Life, Decrease Depression, Study Finds Increasing a person’s confidence that they can complete tasks and reach goals in specific situations may benefit patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In a new study, researchers used an intensive three-day social cognitive treatment, called Can Do, to increaseĀ patients’ self-efficacy, which resulted in long lasting improvements in their health-related…
August 5, 2016 by Ćzge Ćzkaya, PhD Gut Microbiota Is Growing Focus of Multiple Sclerosis Research, Though Treatments Are Few Gut microbiota (the ecological community of microorganisms that live in the gut) may be an important environmental risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). This suggests that strategies to correct the imbalance in the normal intestinal flora, also known as microbial dysbiosis may help treat or event prevent MS.
October 19, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ COPAXONE 40 mg/mL Three-times-a-week Approved in Russia for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a leading global pharmaceutical company that delivers high-quality, patient-centric healthcare solutions to millions of patients every day, recently announced the approval of a Marketing Authorization license (MA) by the Russian Ministry of Health for three-times-per-week COPAXONEĀ®(glatiramer acetate injection) 40 mg/mL, a new dose of COPAXONEĀ®,…
October 16, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD GATE Trial Supports Generic Glatiramer Acetate as an Alternative Therapy for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis The Glatiramer Acetate Clinical Trial to Assess Equivalence With CopaxoneĀ (GATE) seems to be the first phase 3 clinical trial to test a generic disease-modifying medication for multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. The data showed that glatiramer acetate, the generic drug, was equivalent to the trademark drug Copaxone for the…
October 14, 2015 News by admin Study Reports No Influence of Vitamin D Supplementation on Inflammation in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis A recentĀ study of people with relapsing remittingĀ multiple sclerosis (RRMS) found thatĀ high-dose oral vitamin D3 supplementation did not influence markers of inflammation. Inflammation is a reaction to bodily injury that may be over-activated in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).Ā The article, titled “Vitamin D supplementation and systemic inflammation in…
October 8, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Biogen to Present Update on TECFIDERA (Dimethyl Fumarate) for Early Stage Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis at ECTRIMS 2015 Biogen is scheduled to present the latest efficacy and safety profile updates on TECFIDERA (dimethyl fumarate), its lead treatmentĀ forĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), during theĀ 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) happening now in Barcelona, Spain until October 10, 2015. The…
October 7, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Genzyme to Present vs.MS Global Survey Data on Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Challenges at ECTRIMS Genzyme recently announced a novel worldwide initiative called vs.MS, whose goal is to increase awareness of the psychical and emotional toll of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) on patients and their caregivers. To enhance the comprehension of the full burden of RMS, Genzyme conducted a large-scale survey ofĀ more than 1,500 individuals…
September 30, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Teva’s COPAXONE Approved in Japan for the Prevention of Relapse Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a leading global pharmaceutical company that delivers high-quality, patient-centric healthcare solutions, recently announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) approved the once per day 20 mg injection of COPAXONEĀ®Ā as prophylaxis for relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS). Glatiramer acetate, the active…
September 22, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Clinical Benefit of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Therapies Highlighted in Review A review study recently published in the journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Review (CDSR) focused on the clinical benefit of different therapiesĀ available for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The study is entitled āImmunomodulators and immunosuppressants for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a network meta-analysisā and was led…
August 24, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Novartis Acquires Remaining Rights to Ofatumumab by GSK for Multiple Sclerosis and Other Autoimmune Diseases Pharmaceutical giant Novartis recently announced it has signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for exclusive rights to GSK’s investigational CD20-specific monoclonal antibody,Ā Ofatumumab, indicated forĀ relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and other autoimmune diseases. Novartis had previously acquired rights to the drug for its indications in oncology, effectively marketing it under brand nameĀ ArzerraĀ®.
August 10, 2015 News by admin Benefits of Exercise For Kids With MS Touted in New Study A recent research study focused on whether regular exercise can benefit children with multiple sclerosis (MS). The article appeared in the August 12, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. MS is characterized by inflammation, which manifests asĀ an…
August 6, 2015 News by admin Could Salt Intake be an MS Risk Factor? Most people know that eating too much salt is bad for your health, but a new study suggests that it could also increase the risk for multiple sclerosis (MS). The workĀ appearedĀ in the August 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal,Ā the journal of the FederationĀ of…