research

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy is safe and well tolerated, and leads to improvements in disability and a reduction in lesion burden in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review of published studies. MSC treatments also reduced levels of biomarkers associated with nerve damage and inflammation,…

Blood levels of a protein called GFAP, which reflects the activation and damage to support cells in the brain and spinal cord, may help predict disease severity and the response to treatment with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new analysis of clinical trial data. “This…

Treatment with neural stem cells, which have the ability to differentiate into neurons and other supportive cells of the nervous system, was safe and significantly boosted myelin repair in spinal cord lesions in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study showed. The stem cells were able to…

Quantum Biopharma filed a U.K. innovation passport application to streamline the development and review of Lucid-21-302 (Lucid-MS), a therapy designed to promote myelin repair in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The submission, made via Quantum’s Australian subsidiary, Huge Biopharma Australia, marks the first step to entering the U.K.’s Innovative…

Nearly two-thirds of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who underwent a stem cell transplant showed no signs of confirmed disability progression five years later, according to a study tracking MS patients in the U.K. The results were generally better for people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), but nearly half…

A team of U.S. and Chinese researchers appears to have unlocked a novel way to stop T-cells from attacking the body in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases, according to the findings of a new study. An experimental therapy called BiTS, developed based on these new molecular insights,…

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden said they have identified 18 new potential protein drug targets to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) using an integrative analytical approach. A drug target is a molecule, typically a protein, within the body that’s often involved in disease processes. Some of the newly…

Following the MIND diet plan, rich in leafy greens, whole grains, legumes, nuts, berries, and lean meats, may help strengthen the body’s antioxidant defenses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. The Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet combines the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes those…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a significantly greater risk of developing dementia compared with the general population, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis. Of nearly 38,000 MS patients assessed across 10 published studies, about 5% had a diagnosis of dementia. The prevalence was particularly high in…

Anti-CD20 therapies, a type of treatment approved for multiple sclerosis (MS), alter the activity of several types of immune cells, including increasing the levels of certain anti-inflammatory immune cells. That’s according to the study “Transcriptomic profiling after B cell depletion reveals central and peripheral immune cell…

Scientists have made significant advances in treating multiple sclerosis (MS) in recent decades, with a number of treatments for the neurodegenerative disease approved or in development. But one issue that’s been more challenging to address, researchers say, is MS quiet progression — when there aren’t new visible lesions…

In healthy adults, a single low dose of Immutep’s immunosuppressive candidate IMP761 continues to be safe and appears to reduce the activity of T-cells — immune cells that become overactive in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. This is according to data from an ongoing Phase…

Two of three groups — one composed of people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and the other comprising healthy volunteers — have been fully enrolled in a Phase 1b clinical trial that’s testing a new anti-inflammatory drug being developed by Contineum Therapeutics. The Phase 1b…

Older men with multiple sclerosis (MS) who use medicines that reduce the levels of androgens, or male sex hormones, experience sustained or increased disease activity instead of the expected decreases that typically happen with advancing age, a small study suggests. According to the team, such disease activity was “particularly”…

A new imaging technology may help detect early signs of brain damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) that aren’t visible on conventional MRI scans, a recent study shows. The technology detects specific metabolic alterations in the brain by tracking certain metabolites and neurotransmitters — molecules that nerve…

Mitochondrial abnormalities, or problems in the powerhouses of cells, seem to be a main contributor to the death of important nerve cells in the cerebellum — a brain region involved in motor control — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests. Researchers found that inflammation and…

A CAR T-cell therapy from Iaso Biotherapeutics was tolerated well and led to marked improvements in disability for three people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to early data from a Phase 1 clinical trial. After a single dose of equecabtagene autoleucel, patients saw rapid and…

A ketogenic diet — a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet — rich in long-chain, saturated fatty acids like those in butter and fatty red meat didn’t reduce optic nerve damage in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. Instead, feeding mice this type of diet before the…

The first person with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been successfully imaged in a clinical trial evaluating a new positron emission tomography (PET) tracer designed to detect changes in myelin loss, or demyelination. The Phase 1 study (NCT04699747), a joint effort between Quantum Biopharma and Massachusetts…

A multicenter Phase 2a clinical trial testing foralumab nasal spray in people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) has begun dosing patients at Weill Cornell Medicine Multiple Sclerosis Center in New York. The Phase 2a study (NCT06292923) is assessing the safety and efficacy of Tiziana Life Sciences‘ therapy,…

In people with benign relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have minimal disease activity, there is a loss of overall brain tissue but specific parts of the brain may grow to help compensate for the damage, a new study indicates. The study, “AI-driven MRI analysis reveals brain…

People who develop multiple sclerosis (MS) at a younger age tend to consistently have better physical health but worse mental health than those diagnosed later, a study found. While physical health declined in the long term for all age groups, and mental health increased, the differences between groups were…

Hormone therapies used in gender-affirming care for transgender people may affect disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS), a small new study reports, although its researchers cautioned that more research is are needed to more comprehensively assess its impact in MS. The study, “Gender-affirming interventions and prognosis…

Gum disease caused by the bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) is associated with worse multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the disease, a study shows. Infection with Pg directly or indirectly boosted pro-inflammatory pathways in immune cells in the spleen, where they’re produced, thereby aggravating MS. These effects…

An experimental medicine, 2-D08, boosts motor function in mice and primate models of multiple sclerosis (MS) by repairing the myelin sheath, the protective coating on nerve fibers that’s damaged in people with the neurodegenerative condition, a study showed. 2-D08 also outperformed the approved therapy dalfampridine, sold as Ampyra…

Children with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) experience biological aging at a faster rate than children without the disease, a study shows. “We found evidence that children living with MS experience accelerated biological aging,” Jennifer Graves, MD, PhD, senior author of the study at the University of California, San Diego,…

Infections and stressful life events in childhood may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), while childhood exercise is associated with lower MS risk, according to a study. The findings, part of the German National Cohort (NAKO) population study, imply that programs to encourage physical activity and prevent…

Task-oriented training may help balance issues for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly when combined with conventional physiotherapy, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. But the study came with a note of caution. “These findings suggest inconsistent outcomes and highlight the need for cautious interpretation and further research,”…

Among people in New Zealand, the proportion of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) — the disease’s prevalence, or how common it is — has grown by about one-third in recent decades, a new study found. In 2006, 72.4 of every 100,000 people who lived in the country had MS,…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have chronic lower body pain show distinct changes in how they walk, including significantly slower gait speed, than those without pain, a study reports. Those with chronic lower body pain also took fewer and shorter steps, had longer step durations, and had…