Disability progression in the absence of relapses is less common in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) than among people with adult-onset disease, according to data covering more than 5,000 patients with relapsing forms of MS. Nevertheless, this form of progression — called progression independent of relapse activity,…
research
Tap speed — or how quickly one types on a smartphone keyboard — may be a useful tool for monitoring multiple sclerosis (MS) severity and detecting the transition to a progressive form of the disease, according to new research data. Results demonstrated that slower tapping speeds were linked to…
“I Am Not The Doctor For You” is the title of a shocking new study published earlier this month in the journal Health Affairs. It reports that a number of doctors acknowledged being uncomfortable with treating people with a disability. The study was conceived of by Lisa Iezzoni,…
An infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) consistently preceded elevations in neurofilament light chain (NfL), an early biomarker of nerve cell damage, in people who went on to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), new data show. An increase in NfL levels, which is thought to occur before the clinical…
Remyelination, or regeneration of the myelin sheath that’s progressively damaged and lost in multiple sclerosis (MS), may be less effective for those who develop MS later in life, new research suggests. People with late-onset MS (LOMS) whose disease appears after age 50 have significantly fewer oligodendrocytes – the…
Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) before or during pregnancy does not seem to increase the risk of major pregnancy or infant complications, with 79% of the pregnancies leading to live births, according to data from more than 2,000 women with multiple sclerosis (MS). The results were shared at the 38th…
Fertility treatments do not significantly increase the risk of relapse in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), even among those who undergo treatment protocols associated with greater levels of hormone exposure, according to a recent U.S.-based analysis. Older age, a longer MS duration, and the use of MS disease-modifying…
An intravenous (into-the-vein) formulation of ofatumumab — a disease-modifying therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) sold under the brand name Kesimpta — resulted in a 63% reduction in relapse rates among MS patients, with about 60% remaining relapse-free over the first year of treatment, a recent study in…
Note: This story was updated Oct. 31, 2022, to correct that in the six months after treatment discontinuation, relapses were reported in 18.8% of RMMS patients and 3.5% of those with SPMS. When multiple sclerosis (MS) patients stop their disease-modifying treatment, the risk of relapses and disease activity on…
Trethera has been awarded a $1.6 million grant to further develop TRE-515 as a potential treatment for optic neuritis — inflammation of the nerves that transmit data from the eyes to the brain — which also is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). TRE-515 is a first-in-class…
Measuring disability progression every time it occurs, rather than just tracking whether it occurs, could improve the statistical power of clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly for progressive forms of the disease. That’s according to scientists at Roche and several academic institutions who published their findings in…
Multiple Sclerosis News Today is providing comprehensive coverage of the 38th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), taking place Oct. 26-28 in Amsterdam, as well as virtually. Each year, MS News Today brings the multiple sclerosis (MS) community highlights of the ECTRIMS…
The levels of two cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, CHI3L1 and CXCL13, were significantly elevated in people with relapsing and progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) relative to control groups without this disease, and are most likely to predict how relapsing MS will progress, a study reported. Higher levels of these biomarkers were also…
A protein called spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) is critical for microglia, the brain’s immune cells, to clear the toxic debris that accumulates in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological disorders, a mouse model study shows. “We have discovered a master controller of the cell type and processes that are…
A research team at Marquette University has received a $3.34 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test whether high-intensity exercise on a “shaky” treadmill — one that moves unexpectedly — can help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) retain a sense of balance and walk faster. The…
EHP-101, an experimental treatment being clinically tested for multiple sclerosis (MS), activates a cellular signaling pathway that promotes blood vessel development and reduces inflammation following brain injury, a new study shows. The findings continue to support the use of EHP-101 in MS, a condition marked by excess inflammation and…
High adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of disability outcomes, as well as reported disease symptoms, in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. The data provide important information for further studies to guide clinical recommendations in MS. The study, “Mediterranean…
People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) have lower cholesterol levels in their blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, compared with those without MS, a study reports. These lower cholesterol levels might correlate with a more…
Blood levels of nesfatin-1, irisin, adropin, and preptin — all regulatory hormones known to control energy balance — are significantly reduced in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients relative to healthy people, a small study showed. While the implications of these findings remain unclear, the…
A new tool that analyzes gait, or walking patterns, of people on a treadmill — using video recordings from a simple digital camera — is able to accurately identify those with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study showed. Scientists said the gait-analysis tool may be a low-cost and easy-to-use way…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are significantly more likely to have antibodies against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) — the strongest risk factor for the disease — than healthy individuals, as well as higher levels of these antibodies, according to a Spanish study. All MS patients were positive for anti-EBV…
NexImmune is working with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to develop cell therapies for people with immunological disorders associated with certain viral infections, namely the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). A history of infection with EBV — mostly…
Data passively collected by smartphone apps and fitness trackers can be used to accurately predict the risk of depression, severe fatigue, poor sleep quality, and symptom worsening in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) when in-person health visits are suddenly limited. These are the findings of a small study that…
The risk of transitioning from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) declined significantly after the introduction of disease-modifying therapies (DMT), according to a large nationwide Swedish study. Data showed that SPMS conversion risk rose by 3% each year before the first generation of…
The following multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories caught my eye last week: Stem cell transplant and nerve fiber damage This small study of 43 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) in Sweden reports that their disability during the period of…
A novel tracer designed to detect myelin loss in PET scans — imaging tests that use a radioactive substance, called a tracer, to look for disease in the body — showed a good safety profile in a small first-in-human study. Scientists say this new tracer could potentially help in evaluating…
mSteps, a new phone app, could be used to precisely measure the outdoor walking distance of people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS), a recent study shows. The study, “The mSteps pilot study: Analysis of the distance walked using a novel smartphone application in multiple sclerosis,” was published in…
XRHealth‘s virtual reality (VR) software, which provides an immersive three-dimensional environment where patients do repetitive tasks such as popping a balloon with a sword, is safe and feasible for upper limb training among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent pilot study. Participants generally felt engaged…
Electrical stimulation of the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp may ease some measures of spasticity for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to results from a small clinical trial. Using this novel route of brain stimulation was shown to impact muscle contractions in patients with spasticity…
Evaluating a person’s sense of smell may help monitor disease progression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study. Almost a third of MS patients studied showed signs of smell loss in clinical evaluations and the degree of impairment correlated with clinical measures of disease, such…