research

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is expanding its patient-centered research network to include more than 1,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) receiving care at 20 sites across the U.S. Known as the Multiple Sclerosis Implementation Network (MSIN), the initiative brings together healthcare providers, researchers, people…

Abnormal fat buildup inside the brain’s immune cells may help to drive neurological damage and disability progression in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. The findings also point to a possible therapeutic target. Researchers showed that blocking an enzyme called MAGL may help reverse…

In a column I wrote a couple years ago, I noted that, despite my fascination with the subject of psychology, I have only an amateur understanding of it. We can add artificial intelligence (AI) to the long list of things I’m not an expert on. I know what it is…

The two main mouse models used to study myelin damage in multiple sclerosis (MS) each replicate important but distinct biological features of the disease — but both fall short of capturing its full biological complexity, a new study shows. The findings suggest that each of these two models may…

Enrollment is half complete in an ongoing clinical study at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) testing whether a PET imaging tracer can reliably measure myelin damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Phase 1 study (NCT04699747) is recruiting about 60 people — healthy adults and MS patients — who…

Decode Health and Circular Genomics are partnering to use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify patterns in circular RNA — stable genetic molecules able to signal disease — that may help diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) earlier and monitor its progression over time. The collaboration brings together Circular Genomics’…

More than 5,000 cyclists took part in the 2026 Bike MS: ACC Texas MS 150 event, a two-day fundraising ride with proceeds aiming to support research and services for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Part of the Bike MS initiative, the Texas ride is the largest fundraising…

Menstrual fluid collected from tampons could one day provide a simple, noninvasive way to measure a biomarker of nerve damage and potentially track disease activity in neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers at Nextgen Jane, in collaboration with Siemens Healthineers…

The amount of sugar in the brain plays a key role in governing the activity of oligodendrocytes, the brain cells responsible for making the protective myelin coating around nerve fibers, according to a study done in mice and cell models. The findings could have important implications for understanding diseases…

National Football League player Fernando Mendoza and his family are partnering with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) to fund research and support programs for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Mendoza Family Fund builds on the efforts of Mendoza and his family to raise funds and…

First-line treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) preserved walking abilities and hand function in most people with early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) over six years, according to data from a Phase 3b clinical trial and its extension study. The findings were presented in a talk by Robert Bermel, MD, of…

A pair of studies showed that a group of nerve cells essential for cognition may be particularly vulnerable to damage in multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers found that CUX2 neurons — specialized cells in the brain’s cortex, which governs complex thinking — are…

In multiple sclerosis (MS), certain disease-driving immune cells carry a protein marker called CD29, which helps them move into the brain and trigger inflammation. That is the key finding of a new study by researchers in the Netherlands, who zeroed in on the protein as a driver of MS.

The cells that line the inside of the gut — known as intestinal epithelial cells — may play a key role in triggering inflammation that drives multiple sclerosis (MS), a study showed. The study found that these cells can activate a type of T-cell known as Th17 cells. These…

A new study being funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) will seek to better understand how women with multiple sclerosis (MS) navigate menopause and develop resources to address gaps in care. The study, “The Menopausal Transition, MS Symptom Management, and Multidisciplinary Care Gaps,” will use input from…

The Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis (ACP) has received funding to help interpret and share findings from the DISCO-MS study, which examined whether older adults with stable multiple sclerosis (MS) could stop disease-modifying medications, to support more informed treatment decisions. The award comes through the Eugene Washington…

Ludwig Kappos, MD, a neurologist and researcher at University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland, has been named the 2026 recipient of the John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research for his central role in advancing understanding and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and monitoring of disease progression. The $40,000…

A combination of drugs widely used in anti-aging studies seems to compromise the function of the brain’s myelin-making cells and cause profound myelin loss, according to the findings of a new study in mice and lab-grown cells. The dual treatment, which combines dasatinib and quercetin, also known as D+Q, caused…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who experience their first symptoms after age 50 tend to have faster disability progression than those with earlier disease onset, according to a recent study. The also more commonly develop primary progressive MS (PPMS). In addition, late-onset MS was associated with a higher risk of…

Most people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have persistently high levels of antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), but these antibodies are much less common in people with other neuroinflammatory diseases and in healthy people, a study found “This study indicates that serial testing for EBV-specific antibodies could serve as…

While many genetic factors that increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) are shared across ancestral backgrounds, a study identified a variant that may reduce MS risk in South Asian people, which had not been seen in European studies — suggesting that studies focusing mainly on people of European descent…

Although the total number of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) has increased globally in recent decades due to population growth and aging, MS is causing fewer deaths and less disability now than in the past, according to a new study. Predictions also suggest that this trend toward reduced…

A researcher at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Australia has received funding from MS Australia to uncover how genetic risk factors contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS). Hamish King, PhD, will use the AU$400,000 (about $281,000) grant to investigate how more than 100 genetic changes linked to MS…

A type of immune cell that has received little attention in multiple sclerosis (MS) research may play a key role in driving the disease. A study found that some people with MS had abnormally high levels of virus-fighting CD8 T-cells in the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Oligodendrocytes, the cells responsible for making myelin, are constantly being made throughout the brain and spinal cord, even when there’s no myelin damage, according to a new study by U.S. researchers. These findings challenge the long-held view that oligodendrocyte precursor cells mostly differentiate into oligodendrocytes at sites of damage…

Inflammatory gut bacteria that carry proteins structurally similar to myelin, a protective layer surrounding nerve fibers that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), may trigger the development and progression of the disease, according to a new study done in mouse models. The findings may pave the way toward new…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) may follow two distinct biological paths that differ in how early and how quickly nerve damage develops, according to a new study. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze brain MRI scans together with a blood test linked to nerve damage, researchers identified one MS pattern marked…

The balance between two immune signaling molecules — CXCL13 and BAFF — may help identify the hard-to-treat inflammation in the brain and spinal cord that’s thought to be a major driver of disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. The findings may help identify which patients are…

Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have children experience significantly longer waits before receiving a diagnosis than women without children, according to a new U.S. study. On average, each child was associated with an additional 1.28-year delay in diagnosis. The delay was even longer among women whose symptoms…

Quantum Biopharma has completed dosing in two toxicology studies requested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that aim to support the launch of clinical studies of Lucid-MS, an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) that’s designed to slow myelin loss. The 180-day toxicity and toxicokinetic…