People with multiple sclerosis (MS) should generally follow a regular vaccination schedule similar to their healthy peers, with certain adjustments made if they’re on particular disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), according to a group of experts in Europe who devised a set of more than 50 evidence-based guidelines for the…
research
The biopharmaceutical company Imcyse has signed on to a new project that aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) to develop tools that can be used to better track the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). The project’s goal is to help guide treatment decisions for MS patients. Called Clinical…
Treatment with estriol, a hormone that’s produced during pregnancy, reduced disease severity and promoted myelin repair in the cortex — a key brain region affected in multiple sclerosis (MS) — in a mouse model of the disease. Those are the main findings of the study, “Neuroprotection in cerebral…
The sexual satisfaction of women with multiple sclerosis (MS) improved when they actively sought out ways to deal with the practical challenges related to sexuality instead of just relying on managing their emotions, a study finds. It’s therefore important for women with MS to consider a problem-focused coping strategy…
GlobeStar Therapeutics (GSTC) is teaming up with Advanced Innovative Partners (AIP) to design and implement clinical trials of Project Amethyst, an investigational therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) that aims to reduce neurodegeneration — when nerve cells in the body lose function and ultimately die. The new memorandum of understanding (MOU)…
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Myelin repair and clemastine The Multiple Sclerosis News Today story “MRI method detects myelin repair with…
Changes in the gene activity within immune T-cells explain why women with multiple sclerosis (MS) improve during pregnancy, a study reports. Gene activity changes during and after pregnancy were highly similar between MS patients and healthy women. Many of the genes whose activity was altered during pregnancy were associated…
Altered blood levels of certain fat molecules implicated in inflammatory responses seem to correlate with disability status and markers of nerve damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly in those with progressive forms of the disorder, a study reported. Findings highlight the potential role of these fat, or…
A microRNA called miR-548a-3p, a small molecule important for regulation of gene activity, may help to identify people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who will reach no evidence of disease activity — a status known as NEDA-3 — after treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod), a study found. Data showed that…
The over-the-counter antihistamine clemastine has demonstrated an ability to repair myelin, the protective coating on nerve fibers that’s damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to an analysis of MRI data from the ReBUILD clinical trial. The changes in myelin were examined with a noninvasive MRI method that more…
To address knowledge gaps and avoid duplicate efforts in the lab and in trials, 10 multiple sclerosis (MS) organizations from around the world have committed to a single global research strategy to find a cure for the progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The nonprofits, with headquarters in countries ranging from the…
Alterations in the levels of certain fat molecules in the bloodstream are significantly associated with a higher risk of relapse and a poorer disability status in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study. It’s not yet clear if such alterations contribute to the inflammation…
Aneuro, a brand of the biotechnology company ACROBiosystems, is partnering with the biosensor maker Diagnostic Biochips to help bring to market new approaches to treating disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, the companies are collaborating to launch electrophysiology solutions that can be used in living…
A blood-clotting protein called fibrin can activate immune cells in the brain and contribute to inflammation and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study revealed. Because blood vessels become leaky in neurodegenerative conditions like MS, the blood can cross into the brain, which is known to activate multiple pro-inflammatory…
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) appears to be more effective than rituximab at reducing relapse activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), but disability progression outcomes are comparable between the therapies, an observational study of patients reported. “Study findings suggest that the effectiveness of rituximab on MS relapses was…
It’s been three decades since the first treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) was approved. In that time, the field has made substantial advances — including the approval of over two dozen medications — but there’s still a long way to go to improve care for progressive forms of…
The protein DDX39B is a master regulator of immune tolerance, or the immune system’s ability to distinguish self from potentially harmful nonself molecules, and helps to control the development of immune cells that are key for this process, a new study shows. Findings suggest that activating DDX39B with small molecules…
Engaging in physical activity may improve the quality of life for people newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a link that remained even after accounting for other factors such as fatigue and disability status, a study shows.
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Foralumab shows early positive results for SPMS I’ll say up front that this is a very small study.
Pipeline Therapeutics will soon launch a Phase 1 clinical study to test PIPE-791, one of its candidate treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), in healthy volunteers. The announcement follows a go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an investigational new drug (IND) application to initiate clinical…
We all know that the difficulty many of us with multiple sclerosis (MS) have walking can be caused by lesions that damage the nerves along the spinal cord. What if an electronic bridge could be built to carry nerve impulses over those damaged areas? That concept is being…
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) — given by infusion — may work better than certain oral treatments to prevent relapses and disability worsening in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who transition from Tysabri (natalizumab), a new study found. Individuals who switched to Ocrevus also were more likely to stay…
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) has earned a shoutout from the digital fundraising platform DonorDrive for being recognized as one of the top 30 peer-to-peer fundraising programs in the U.S. by the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum. MS Canada also made the list for the top…
Reductions in microglial activation have been observed in the brains of five of six patients with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who received treatment with Tiziana Life Science’s foralumab nasal spray. Microglia, resident immune cells in the brain, are believed to play a role in driving inflammation…
For people with multiple sclerosis (MS), all forms of exercise are likely to be beneficial for physical fitness, but certain forms of exercise may be better than others at improving specific measures of fitness, according to a review of multiple clinical trials. Results suggest that resistance training — pushing…
Disease-associated inflammatory activity of microglia — a type of immune cell with a central role in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) — is driven in part by molecular mechanisms that are activated when microglia try to clear the corpses of dead myelin-making cells. That’s according to a new…
People with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) who experienced disease activity while on oral therapies had less disease activity after switching to Kesimpta (ofatumumab), according to an analysis of data from the Phase 3 ARTIOS clinical trial. The patients previously were on Gilenya (fingolimod), or fumarate-based therapies such…
Microparticles that activate regulatory T-cells, or Tregs, an immune cell type with anti-inflammatory properties, reversed the accumulation of physical disability due to multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative disorder, a new study shows. Use of the novel strategy even cured some of the animals. “We…
Physical disability, not whether patients are depressed, when they’re diagnosed with multiple sclerosis significantly influences their future disability progression, according to a recent U.K. registry study. Although patients who were depressed at the time of their diagnosis were more likely to accumulate significant disability and require an aid to…
Analyses of protein levels in the blood can be used to identify groups of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with distinct clinical features, new research shows. Given the variability of symptoms among people with MS, such groupings could help to improve individualized care for patients, according to Octave, a…