Rehabilitation approaches involving virtual reality (VR) may have beneficial effects on cognitive function and anxiety in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but more research is needed to better understand its effects, according to a recent meta-analysis of 10 clinical trials. Small gains in certain aspects of cognition, including immediate…
research
A higher intake of whole grain food is significantly associated with a lower likelihood of developing pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study led by researchers in Canada. Conversely, an overall more pro-inflammatory diet — one containing higher amounts of fats and proteins — was linked to increased…
Scientists in Iran have discovered a new way to convert astrocytes — star-shaped brain cells that support nerve function — into oligodendrocytes, the cells that make and repair myelin in the brain. When the converted cells were transplanted into the brains of mice with myelin damage like that seen in…
Certain biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) — the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord — around the time of a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis may help predict the time to reaching certain disability milestones among people with a relapsing-remitting (RRMS) disease course, according to findings from…
Microscopic connections between brain cells vary based on biological sex, according to a new study that used machine learning to analyze MRI data from hundreds of healthy volunteers. Researchers said the findings may help explain why neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently vary according to sex. “Our…
A Marquette University team is leading a new project that will combine balance and cardio training with the goal of improving the walking abilities of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Led by Marquette biomedical engineering professor Brian Schmit, PhD, the project — which is supported by a $3.34 million…
An abnormally active metabolism in immune B-cells can trigger the release of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules that drive further inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. Selectively blocking certain metabolic processes with a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor normalized B-cell metabolism and shifted their signaling to an anti-inflammatory state.
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who start treatment with a mild-to-moderate efficacy disease-modifying therapy (DMT) were more likely to switch to another DMT, an analysis of the German MS Registry finds. Starting a DMT between 2014 and 2017 was also a predictor of switching. Disease activity despite treatment…
Alternative splicing, a biological process that allows a single gene to code for multiple proteins, is extensively disrupted in immune cells isolated from untreated multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and long-term treatment with interferon beta-based therapies largely corrects the defects, a study found. “Alternative splicing is a potential biomarker warning…
A small molecule called ESI1 stimulated the repair of the myelin sheath, the fatty coating on nerve fibers that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. In an MS mouse model, this resulted in improved motor function and nerve cell communication, as well as reduced signs…
Alexander Gow, PhD, a professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, has been awarded a grant to study how stressed oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin in the brain and spinal cord, could be at the origin of multiple sclerosis (MS). The three-year, $644,827 grant from…
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has awarded Inflectis BioScience a grant valued at $649,601 to advance the preclinical development of IFB-048, the company’s experimental treatment to promote myelin repair in multiple sclerosis (MS). “This grant along with the support from the Society are a testimony…
Charles River Laboratories has joined up with FibroBiologics to manufacture the company’s spheroids for clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS) and several other conditions. The spheroids are groups of fibroblast cells arranged in a three-dimensional (3D) structure that more closely resemble how cells organize in living tissues.
Among immigrants to Canada, the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) is higher for those who have spent a greater portion of their life in Canada, a new study reports. The study, “Proportion of Life Spent in Canada and the Incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in Permanent Immigrants,”…
NKTR-0165, an antibody that targets the tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 (TNFR2), will continue to be developed by Nektar Therapeutics as a candidate for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. The experimental therapy was developed under a 2021 collaboration between Nektar and Biolojic…
A specialized imaging approach was able to detect signs of persistent inflammation in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) that aren’t readily captured by standard MRI scans. This so-called smoldering inflammation was also observed among those patients taking high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), where a higher degree…
For people who develop multiple sclerosis (MS), the disease can exact a toll on their ability to work and on how much they earn in the private sector, according to a study by researchers in France, who said policies need to be enacted to replace lost income. “The effects…
A new machine learning model is able to predict the risk of converting from clinically isolated syndrome, or a first event of multiple sclerosis (MS)-like symptoms, to clinically definite disease, a study found. “Our study developed a machine-learning model that not only provides a numerical estimate of the…
There’s no evidence to suggest that multiple sclerosis (MS) directly causes most cancers, but having the condition may marginally increase the likelihood of developing cervical cancer, according to a new study from China. That study found “no causal relationship between MS and 15 types of cancers except cervical cancer,”…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are being treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) tend to prefer receiving the medication as a subcutaneous (under-the-skin) injection rather than an intravenous (into-the-vein) infusion, according to new data from an observational study. “Based on current data, there is a trend toward patients’ preference…
Fully 70% of patients with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who received foralumab nasal spray in an expanded access program (EAP) experienced a lessening in fatigue levels after six months of treatment. That’s according to early findings from the EAP — a program that enables patients with serious…
Researchers have identified a distinct profile of self-reactive antibodies that appear in the blood years before the first clinical signs of multiple sclerosis (MS), which they believe could be used to help diagnose the neurodegenerative disease. The antibodies were found in about 10% of people who developed MS and…
Long-term treatment with Clene Nanomedicine‘s experimental oral therapy CNM-Au8 led to signs of sustained improvements in nerve and myelin health for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) over three years, according to new data from the VISIONARY-MS clinical trial. The findings continue to support Clene’s plans to…
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) had similar benefits in Black and Hispanic multiple sclerosis (MS) patients as earlier clinical trials with white patients did, one-year data from the CHIMES clinical trial indicates. About half of the CHIMES participants achieved no evidence of disease activity, or NEDA, which is defined as the…
Undergoing fertility treatment with assistive reproductive technologies does not increase the likelihood of having a relapse for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are taking a disease-modifying therapy (DMT), according to a new analysis. “The results are reassurance for women with MS who plan to undergo assistive reproductive…
High blood levels of the nerve damage biomarker neurofilament light chain (NfL) significantly increased the risk of people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) converting to definite multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an analysis of clinical trial data. CIS patients with higher NfL levels also made the transition earlier…
When presented with medical information authored by neurologists or by ChatGPT, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) reported similar satisfaction with both, but said the artificial intelligence platform was more empathetic. That’s the result of the study, “ChatGPT vs. neurologists: a cross-sectional study investigating preference, satisfaction ratings…
The risk of having a stroke, that is, a blockage in blood flow to the brain that can cause lasting damage, is about 2.5 times higher in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) than the general population, a review of multiple studies finds. The researchers called for further studies to…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) in England had a seven times greater risk of hospitalization and a fourfold increased risk of death from COVID-19 in 2022 than did the general population, according to a study of almost 12 million people in the European nation. The elevated risk of both…
A team of Kessler Foundation researchers has been granted more than $700,000 by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for work that seeks to better understand the brain networks associated with primary fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The grant, totaling $722,602, was awarded to Glenn Wylie, PhD,…