Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, held April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. A novel method to calculate how long it takes therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) to become fully effective…
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As comic Rodney Dangerfield might have said, older people with MS “just don’t get no respect.” By older, I mean those of us who are 55 and up. By respect, I mean from researchers and some neurologists. So, as I approach my 73rd birthday, I have to tip my cap…
Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Common B-cell depleting therapies, such as rituximab and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), may result in shorter duration B-cell depleting effects in…
Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Among people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) without active disease, high blood levels of the…
A group of helper T-cell (Th cells), a type of immune cell, could be responsible for the transition from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), with important implications for diagnosing and treating SPMS, a new study found. The study, “Involvement of cytotoxic Eomes-expressing…
The 2021 John Dystel Prize for multiple sclerosis (MS) research has been awarded to Vijay Kuchroo, PhD, a professor at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, for his work in uncovering the underlying immune mechanisms that drive the neurodegenerative disorder. “Professor Kuchroo’s…
Using artificial intelligence (AI) on imaging data collected from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, researchers were able to classify these people into three new disease subtypes, each distinct from the current groupings determined by symptoms. These new subtypes may allow doctors to better determine those patients more likely to have…
Measurements of the thickness of the eye’s retina — the layer of nerve cells lining the back of the eye — could be used to predict disability progression and relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a real-world study from Austria suggests. “Our study shows that both crossectional and…
A gene called Mertk has important roles in the repair of myelin, the fatty substance that surrounds and protects neurons and that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings were published in Cell Press, in the study “Multiple sclerosis risk gene Mertk is required for…
People who develop multiple sclerosis (MS) as children are more likely to attain lower education levels, earn less in the workplace, and be more reliant on disability benefits later in life, new research shows. These findings were published in JAMA Neurology, in the study, “Long-term Socioeconomic…
Treatment with the antioxidant N‐acetyl cysteine is well-tolerated, but failed to outperform a placebo at easing fatigue in people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), a small clinical trial found. More studies now are needed to determine if oxidative stress contributes to fatigue or clinical progression in MS patients, and…
Rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) appear to rise with measures of prosperity, occurring more frequently in developed countries, according to a recent study. The reasons for such disparities may be linked to better access to diagnostic facilities in developed countries, as well as increased exposure to factors, such as…
Previous treatment with oral Gilenya (fingolimod) is associated with a suboptimal response to Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and an increased risk of secondary autoimmune disorders in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a study reports. However, Lemtrada showed an efficacy in patients switching from various other disease…
The pandemic notwithstanding, MS Run the US has fielded 18 runners — including eight with multiple sclerosis (MS) — to traverse the United States to raise awareness and funds to support MS research and to aid those living with disability caused by the neurodegenerative disease. The organization’s Ultra…
Prolonging a cellular defense mechanism shown to restore myelin — the protective sheath around nerve cell fibers that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) — may be key to treating the neurodegenerative disease, a study in MS mouse models suggests. That defense mechanism, called integrated stress response (ISR), helps…
A machine learning-based method that examines walking abnormalities in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) could help identify patients who are at high risk of worsening symptoms, a study suggests. The study, “Predicting Multiple Sclerosis from Gait Dynamics Using an Instrumented Treadmill – A Machine Learning Approach,”…
NurOwn cell therapy led to significant improvements in the physical abilities, vision, and cognition of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Phase 2 clinical trial, top-line data show. In addition to these positive efficacy results, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, NurOwn’s developer, announced that its cell-based therapy showed…
Injecting rituximab — a cancer therapy sometimes used in multiple sclerosis — into the spinal canal of people with progressive forms of MS did not demonstrably lower inflammation or improve clinical conditions, according to the results of a small trial. “Contrary to the initial high expectations, no clear-cut effect on…
Abnormalities detected on MRI scans at the onset and within the first two years of disease may predict disability worsening in children with multiple sclerosis (MS), a nine-year study reports. Specifically, damage in the spinal cord, brain, and optic nerve plays a major role in predicting outcomes in these…
A Phase 1 clinical trial investigating ANK-700 as a means to restore immune tolerance to myelin in people multiple sclerosis (MS) has begun dosing participants. Currently recruiting at a single site in Tennessee, the trial (NCT04602390) is expected to enroll up to 40 patients with relapsing-remitting…
Doctors in the U.K. are planning a “mega-trial” to investigate several marketed therapies — at the same time — as potential treatments to halt the progression, or even reverse the disabilities, of multiple sclerosis (MS). The world-first Octopus trial, named for its various arms, will enable researchers to concurrently…
Pilates, done regularly, can significantly improve balance and posture in men with multiple sclerosis (MS), helping them to avoid falls and the injuries they can bring, a small randomized trial in Iran reports. The study, “Effect of Twelve weeks Pilates training on functional balance of male patients…
Mavenclad (cladribine) reduces the number and volume of lesions in patients at risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) after a first clinical demyelinating event, a study based on Phase 3 trial data found. A demyelinating event occurs when myelin — the protective coating around nerve fibers — experiences damage; this…
Treatment of up to a year with memantine — an approved therapy for Alzheimer’s disease — failed to prevent cognitive decline and disability, and to significantly reduce fatigue and spasticity in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), a review of published studies shows. The therapy, sold under the brand name Namenda, works…
The degeneration of nerve cells in the retina of the eye is more pronounced in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients taking interferon-beta than in patients treated with more efficacious disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a study finds. As the loss of such cells,…
Regardless of race or ethnicity, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) agree that clinical studies are important and show a willingness and interest in being participants, a primarily U.S. survey found. Those belonging to minority groups, however, are often deterred from taking part in MS studies for reasons that range…
A decline in the activity of the GPR17 gene is responsible for age-related brain deterioration caused by the loss of myelin, a fatty substance that surrounds nerve cells like a sheath, a mouse study discovered. Researchers identified a small molecule that rejuvenated…
Researchers in the U.K. are seeking patients who found it difficult to return to work or school after a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) or COVID-19 to participate in a survey that aims to gather more data on the physical and mental health of individuals with these conditions.
An anti-inflammatory molecule — taken from a venomous fish and named TnP — with the potential to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) proved safe, without signs of cardiac or neurological problems in a recent zebrafish study, and also was found to be able to enter the brain. The findings open…
Vitamin D, but not paricalcitol (a vitamin D analog), can be used as a preventive measure to control the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study of mice. The study, “Preclinical therapy with vitamin D3 in experimental encephalomyelitis: Efficacy and comparison with paricalcitol,” was…