research

About half of all individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) have at least one other co-occurring medical disorder, and such comorbidities add a significant economic burden for MS patients in managing their condition, according to an Italian study. These added costs result from an increase in the use of…

A stem cell transplant more effectively slowed disability worsening in people with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) than anti-inflammatory treatments and disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a study has found. More transplant recipients also experienced clinical improvements that were sustained after three and five years. After 10 years,…

Severing the lower part of the vagus nerve — one of the main neurological pathways that connects the brain to the gut — led to less myelin loss in a mouse model that’s commonly used to study multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings suggest that the vagus nerve plays…

About one in five people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be unfit to drive a vehicle due to disease-related difficulties, according to a review of published studies. Cognitive and visual difficulties were most frequently associated with impaired driving ability, both on the road and in a simulation. However, the…

Myelin, the fatty-rich material surrounding nerve fibers that’s progressively damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), provides metabolic support to a type of nerve cell in the brain that controls the activity of other nerve cells, a study discovered. Researchers showed mitochondria, the cell’s energy producers, are specifically clustered in…

Frequency Therapeutics has established a clinical advisory board, with experts across neuroscience fields, to help guide its small molecule treatment candidate for remyelination in multiple sclerosis (MS) into clinical testing. The company is planning to initiate a first trial of the molecule, designed to boost remyelination — the…

Levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve cell damage, may help predict multiple sclerosis (MS) prognosis and response to treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod), according to a review of five randomized clinical trials. Most of the evaluations in the review study were qualitative, however, meaning trial…

Higher activity of the genes SHMT1, FAM120B, and ICA1L in the brain may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports that for the first time linked two of the genes to risk for the disease. The findings may help to better understand the biological…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have elevated levels of the lipocalin 2 (Lcn-2) protein in their stool samples, a marker for intestinal inflammation, compared with healthy controls, a study demonstrated. Among patients, findings also demonstrated those with high fecal Lcn-2 had changes in their gut microbiome, the collection…

Foralumab, a nasal spray therapy that Tiziana Life Sciences is developing for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other disorders, was well-tolerated in mice for more than three months, according to data from a preclinical study. Tiziana is planning to share that data in a meeting with the U.S. Food…

Researchers have created a computer program that can simulate clinical trial responses for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), which may improve clinical trial design for novel disease-modifying therapies. The tool, called MS TreatSim, was described in the study, “In silico clinical trials for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis…

Abata Therapeutics has chosen its first treatment candidate for development: the T-cell therapy ABA-101 for certain forms of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The therapy is now in early studies that aim to support an investigational new drug application or IND — a formal request to U.S. regulatory authorities…

A machine learning algorithm that incorporates genetic data alongside clinical and demographic information may be able to more accurately predict the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. “Once independently validated, the machine learning algorithm could enable clinicians to provide patients with more accurate prognostic information,…

Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may be able to reduce fatigue, spasticity, and pain, and improve quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new meta-analysis reports. The review assessed several NIBS interventions targeting different brain regions. The results suggest that these techniques can have immediate effects…

The University of British Columbia (UBC) and the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation have received a CA$33.8 million ($25.24 million) donation to establish a multiple sclerosis (MS) research network focused on developing next-generation cell-based treatments. This private donation, by an unnamed British Columbia-based philanthropist, is thought to be the…

NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals has filed a patent in Australia to protect the use of its lead candidate EmtinB in combination with Teva’s Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). The patent application (provisional number 2022903564) is based on data from a lab…

Researchers have developed a technique that uses CAR T-cells, a form of cell therapy, to specifically eliminate the self-reactive immune cells that drive multiple sclerosis (MS), without destroying healthy immune cells needed to protect against infection. “Our CAR-T cells were very effective at treating mice that have an MS-like…

Tevogen Bio has announced plans to develop T-cell therapies targeting the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpes virus known to be a major environmental risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). The decision comes on the heels of positive safety data from a proof-of-concept Phase 1 Tevogen trial that…

A reduction in the levels of an inflammatory molecule called chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) may serve as a biomarker of treatment response to Aubagio (teriflunomide) among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study suggests. After one year of treatment, patients with no evidence of disease activity…

Two years of treatment with the approved therapy >Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) was found to slow the loss of cerebral gray matter and whole brain volume — two markers of neurodegeneration — in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Notably, individuals on Copaxone…

Differences in the composition of the gut microbiome are associated with an altered risk of low immune cell counts as a side effect of treatment with the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate). The findings provide further insights on how the gut microbiome — the billions of…

Fewer than 1 in 5 people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) or 10 other neurological conditions in the U.S. are on new-to-market medications. That’s according to a large data study funded by the American Academy of Neurology, which also linked more recently available treatments — those approved in the…

Assessing disease activity from the first to second year after a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), once treatment has been initiated and stabilized, can help predict long-term disability outcomes. That’s according to the study, “Rebaseline no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) as a predictor of long-term…

Consuming alcohol around dosing time could limit the effectiveness of Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) for multiple sclerosis patients, a recent study suggests. Results from the study, which involved lab and mouse experiments, showed alcohol inhibits an enzyme in the liver that’s necessary to break down Tecfidera’s main ingredient, dimethyl…

Daily treatment with an oral antidepressant called bupropion — marketed as Wellbutrin and Zyban, among others — significantly improved some aspects of sexual function in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the results of a randomized trial in Iran. “The results of our study showed bupropion can…

People with good immune responses against the human cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common herpes virus, around the time of their first symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) may go on to have a slower disease course, a study has found. Compared with people showing weaker immune responses to CMV, these patients…

Blocking the activity of Spns2, a transporter of the sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) protein, reduced the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model, a new study shows. The findings point to Spns2 as a new molecular target for MS treatments that could reduce the side effects associated…

Foralumab nasal spray, an experimental therapy by Tiziana Life Sciences that’s being tested for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune and nervous system diseases, was found to be safe and able to modulate the immune system in healthy volunteers, a study has found. Researchers failed to detect antibodies…

Individuals with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) have significantly higher concentrations of specific inflammation biomarkers in their spinal fluid than healthy people, an exploratory study shows. For most biomarkers, levels in PPMS patients were comparable to or lower than those seen in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

An international panel is calling for new methods to classify multiple sclerosis (MS) that reflect the disease’s underlying biology, rather than differences in clinical presentation. The approach would fundamentally change how patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders understand and describe the disease, but would enable the development of biologically based…