research

Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals (EHP) is preparing for an international Phase 2 clinical trial testing EHP-101 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The study will take place in about 20 locations in the U.S. and Australia, and is expected to include approximately 50 patients with relapsing forms of…

Pipeline Therapeutics has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial to investigate PIPE-307, its lead treatment candidate for multiple sclerosis (MS), in healthy volunteers. The trial (NCT04725175) will assess the compound’s safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics, or how the drug moves through the body. Up to 72 people, ages…

All of the stories this week are from the ACTRIMS 2021 Forum, an MS research conference held virtually Feb. 25–27. #ACTRIMS2021 – COVID-19 Vaccines Safe for MS Patients, Minimally Affected by DMTs My wife and I received the second shot of the Moderna vaccine last week. (You can read…

Lipid (fat) molecules can function as chemical couriers, taking messages from tissue to tissue, organ to organ as part of the body’s immune defense guidance system. But in certain diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), the courier service may go awry. One such lipid molecule, called sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P),…

A Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating GeNeuro‘s investigational antibody temelimab as a treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) should continue as planned, without modifications. That’s the recommendation of a Drug Safety Monitoring Board, an independent committee of clinical research experts, which was evaluating the trial of the…

Rising average temperatures may lead to a worsening of symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and a greater need for hospital care, according to a preliminary study by researchers in the U.S. Its findings will be presented at the virtual annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology,…

Red blood cells carrying specific antigen proteins on the cell surface can be used to disarm overactive T-cells by promoting immune tolerance, a study in mice found. The findings may have important implications for the treatment of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. The study, “Persistent antigen…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society was among 56 nonprofit organizations chosen by Bristol Myers Squibb to share an $11 million award supporting projects that promote health equity and access to better care across ethnically and racially diverse and underserved communities in the U.S. Other awarded projects aim to promote diversity…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. While researchers make progress in pinpointing markers of disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), identifying those that signal…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. Reducing the essential amino acid methionine in the diet lessened multiple sclerosis (MS)-like symptoms in a mouse model of…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has joined forces with the diabetes-focused JDRF and the Lupus Research Alliance to fund research looking at common underlying mechanisms of autoimmune disease. Called “Decoding Immune-Mediated Diseases – Novel Approaches for Therapeutic Insights,” the new joint grant program is meant to stimulate…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. Dietary restriction can lessen the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) by modulating levels of fat-related hormones, new research…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. Clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, including their response to therapies, vary based on race and ethnicity,…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see all the latest stories from the conference. The age of onset, sex, clinical features, and other demographic characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Latin…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see all the latest stories from the conference. The fat-related hormone leptin has pro-inflammatory effects on immune cells, new data show, findings that help in better…

Imcyse has raised €21.3 million ($25.8 million) in funding to advance its innovative immunotherapy platform for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other severe autoimmune diseases. The funding was a result of a series B financing round featuring existing investors such as Biogenosis, Société Fédérale de Participations et…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25-27. Go here to see all the latest stories from the conference. Factors in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding the brain and spinal cord change with age and can affect…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. Regulatory immune cells expressing the melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM) dampen inflammation at sites of nerve damage in…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see all the latest stories from the conference. Higher blood levels of neurofilament light chain (sNfL) were linked with disability, brain atrophy, and other features of…

GeNeuro has completed patient enrollment in its ProTEct-MS Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating temelimab as a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), the company announced. The study (NCT04480307), taking place at the Karolinska Institutet’s Academic Specialist Center (ASC) in Stockholm, Sweden, has enrolled 42 people with relapsing MS whose…

The MS Society in the U.K. is hoping to raise £3.7 million ($5.2 million) to fund research aimed at developing new treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS). The funds will support research at the Society’s Centers of Excellence in Edinburgh and Cambridge over five years. “Our top priority…

The 2020 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research has been awarded to neuroscientist Dwight E. Bergles, PhD, a Johns Hopkins University professor, for his work in understanding the function of brain cells in multiple sclerosis (MS). This international prize awards $100,000 to the recipient. Administered by the National MS…

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) switching from Tysabri (natalizumab) to moderate-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are at a higher risk of showing signs of MS activity and experiencing disability progression than those switching to high-efficacy DMTs, a real-world study found. Based on these findings, the researchers are arguing that,…

Drop in PML With Tysabri Use in Sweden Likely Due to Risk Management Plan I’m JCV-positive, so I’m at risk for PML if I’m being treated with Tysabri. And I was treated with Tysabri for seven years without a problem. That, I believe, is because my neurologist carefully followed…

Sustained, excessive levels of interleukin 17A (IL-17A) — a pro-inflammatory molecule linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases — reduce the number and activity of the brain’s immune cells in the dentate gyrus, according to a study in mice. The dentate gyrus is part of the hippocampus, a…

An antibody analysis has identified two biomarkers that can be used to predict the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in people with optic neuritis, a study reports.  Further research is, however, required to validate these findings…

Treatment with rituximab before or during pregnancy was not associated with major pregnancy or infant complications, according to a case series of 19 women with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. These findings add to the limited available evidence on the use of rituximab by expectant mothers either…

Pipeline Therapeutics announced that it has raised $80 million in investor financing to develop neuroregenerative therapies for neurological disorders, including those like multiple sclerosis (MS) that are marked by the loss of myelin. The money will support the research and development of several candidate therapies, with three aimed at promoting and…

Proteins called PSGs suppress the pro-inflammatory activity of immune Th17 cells during pregnancy, potentially playing a protective role against complications and miscarriage, a study finds.  The impaired regulation of Th17 is associated with pregnancy complications, like preeclampsia and preterm delivery — and also with the development…

Childhood trauma can affect disease progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) and treatment in adulthood, a study in mice suggests. The study shows that mice that experienced early-life trauma were more likely to develop an autoimmune condition and less likely to respond to common treatment with interferon beta. The study,…