research

A certain type of pain-relief treatment during childbirth does not increase the risk that women with multiple sclerosis will have relapses after delivering, a European study reports. The research involved treatments called neuraxial analgesia, so the scientists titled their study “Neuraxial analgesia is not associated with an increased risk of…

The laboratory-generated antibody GNbAC1 continued to limit brain shrinkage a year after relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients began receiving it, its developers announced. GeNeuro and Servier were reporting on the 12-month results of a Phase 2b clinical trial. GNbAC1 is a monoclonal antibody that destroys a harmful retroviral protein called pHERV-W which scientists have…

Cigarette smoking increases the relapse rate in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who are being treated with interferon-beta, a study suggests. The findings suggest that RRMS patients who smoke may have fewer relapses if they quit. An article on the results, “Smoking affects the interferon beta treatment response in multiple sclerosis,” appeared in the journal Neurology. A number of studies have looked at the link between environmental and lifestyle factors and the risk of developing MS. These factors include how much sunlight and vitamin D patients get and whether they have an Epstein-Barr virus infection. Cigarette smoking is a well-documented risk factor in MS, but most of the studies on it have focused on the link between smoking and MS, or the link between smoking and the  disease's progression. “Studies that addressed the relationship between smoking and disease activity in RRMS are rarer,” the researchers wrote. The team decided to investigate whether smoking during interferon-beta treatment would affect relapse rates. Previous research had set the stage for the study by showing a link between smoking and gene mutations that make people more susceptible to developing MS. The mutations were in the HLA and NAT1 genes. The team looked at DNA from 834 RRMS patients in the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Biobank who were treated with interferon-beta. Well-known brand names of the treatment include Rebif, Avonex, and Plegridy. There are also other brand names and biosimilar drugs. Researchers also looked at patients’ medical records two years before they started on interferon-beta. Before making any conclusions on possible links between smoking and patients' relapse rate, the team adjusted for patients’ sex, age at the start of treatment, and number of relapses in the two years before treatment began. Their key conclusion was that smoking increased by more than a quarter the number of relapses in patients on interferon-beta therapy. “Each pack of cigarettes more per day during IFN-β [interferon-beta] treatment increased the number of relapses by 27%,” the team wrote. The researchers found no association among smoking, relapses, and mutations of the HLA or NAT1 genes. “Our results confirm that lifestyle factors are important in MS, suggesting that smoking cessation may be associated with a reduction in disease activity,” they wrote. “Although not formally proving that smoking cessation will decrease disease activity in RRMS, the results should encourage physicians to inform patients with MS about the harmful effect of smoking and increase focus on smoking cessation,” they observed.

Blood Stem Cell Transplants Improve RRMS Patients’ Disability, Phase 3 Trial Shows Here’s yet another study that shows the benefits of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or AHSCT — the procedure in which a patient’s own stem cells are harvested and used to rebuild the…

Depression, anxiety and other mood disorders contribute to physical disability in women with multiples sclerosis, according to a Canadian study that confirmed the results of previous research. The article the team wrote, “Psychiatric comorbidity is associated with disability progression in multiple sclerosis,” appeared in the journal…

Emerald Health‘s investigational cannabidiol-derived EHP-101 reduces neuroinflammation, the risk of loss of myelin, and nerve cell damage in two mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. These results support the potential therapeutic benefits of EHP-101 for MS, and Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals expects to launch a human…

The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) is partnering with a number of organizations during Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month in March to provide education, research and services to the MS community. CMSC is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs and resources to MS professionals, healthcare providers, researchers and the…

Symbiotix Biotherapies has gained access to Harvard University material that could help it develop treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases like multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel diseases. It obtained access to the intellectual property, much of which deals with gut bacteria, under a licensing agreement with Harvard. Intellectual property typically includes…

The American Brain Foundation has started a crowdfunding campaign to support research that could lead to treatments for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Foundation officials said the funds will help facilitate the work of Steffen Jung, head of the immunology department at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Treatment with umbilical cord stem cells was found to be safe and leads to sustained improvements in disability and brain lesions of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a clinical trial. The study, “Clinical feasibility of umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of multiple sclerosis,” was…

Physical and psychiatric comorbidities in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are associated with an increased risk of experiencing more pain — namely pain intensity and pain affect. The research to support that finding, “Psychiatric and physical comorbidities and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis,” was published in the Journal of Pain…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) can indeed have a poorer-than-usual sense of smell, with problems possibly starting at early diseases stages, a small Turkish study reports. This work supports previous research noting olfactory problems in MS patients. It also argues that longer disease duration and more relapses are associated…

I’m not a fish eater. I never have been. Unless the seafood is lobster, shrimp, clams, or crab cakes (pickin’ the crabs is too much work), I’m not interested. Is the fact that I eat very little fish one of the reasons why MS attacked me about 40 years…

A researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Nursing will help to lead a national effort into how multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the cognitive skills of children. Yolanda Harris is the UAB principal investigator in a study assessing how MS impacts the way children make decisions. Titled “…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will award $433,800 to 10 high-risk pilot studies that will quickly evaluate new strategies and interventions and enhance knowledge about multiple sclerosis (MS). According to a press release, the award winners will address different aspects of the disease, including potential treatments for fatigue and loneliness, to improve patients' walking abilities, and a strategy to change gut bacteria effects in MS. The year-long Pilot Research Grant program is a way to support early-stage research projects to quickly test their effectiveness. The MS Society also said that additional projects will be awarded this year. Results of a recent survey of approximately 300 pilot grant recipients revealed the program successfully promotes new ideas and brings new researchers to the MS field. About 90 percent of the respondents agreed that the financial support was very important for their research project. In 85 percent of cases, the grant supported new ideas, and in 56 percent it allowed support for additional grants. These pilot grants allow researchers to obtain preliminary data so they can decide to apply for additional funding, if the project looks  promising, or to put the idea to rest.

Genetically modified human umbilical cord blood cells can help nerve cells recover the myelin layer necessary for normal functioning, researchers found in a preclinical study. This finding may support the development of cell-based therapeutic approaches to help patients with spinal cord injuries or demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

High levels of a protein called calnexin in the brain may disrupt the blood-brain barrier of patients with multiple sclerosis, a Canadian study suggests. The finding could lead to new treatment strategies to prevent brain damage in MS. The research, “Calnexin is necessary for T cell…

Merck KGaA’s evobrutinib led to significant reductions in relapsing multiple sclerosis patients’ brain and spinal cord lesions, compared with a placebo, a Phase 2b clinical trial showed. Researchers measured the number of lesions at weeks 12, 16, 20 and 24. Evobrutinib, also known as M2951, is an oral inhibitor of…

One way the body may protect itself from nerve cell inflammation is to have cells in the blood-brain barrier increase their production of a protein that keeps immune cells from entering the brain, researchers in Germany and Canada report. The finding suggests that scientists could develop a multiple sclerosis therapy around the protein, known as EGFL7. It would work by preventing as many inflammation-generating immune cells from entering the brain. The underlying trigger for MS is immune cells crossing the blood-brain barrier to invade the central nervous system (CNS). The barrier is a selective membrane that shields the CNS from general blood circulation. Therapies that prevent immune cells from entering the brain can help control the disease, studies have shown. They include Tysabri (natalizumab, marketed by Biogen). But “as with other highly effective disease-modifying therapies which influence a broad range of peripheral immune cells, potential devastating adverse events limit the use of this therapy as a first-line agent,” the researchers wrote. The team at Mainz University Medical Center in Germany and the University of Montreal wondered if epidermal growth factor-like protein 7 (EGFL7) could prevent the brain inflammation in MS.  Although scientists had not previously linked it to MS, it was shown to regulate the migration of immune cells into breast cancer tumors. The CNS response to the chronic inflammation seen in MS patients and a mouse model of the disease was to increase EGFL7 in the blood-brain barrier, the researchers found. Researchers said the increase prevented pro-inflammatory immune cells from crossing into the CNS. Endothelial cells that line blood capillaries in the blood-brain barrier are the ones that secrete EGFL7. “We postulate that EGFL7 upregulation by BBB-ECs [brain blood barrier-endothelial cells] is induced as a compensatory mechanism to promote survival and recovery of BBB function in neuroinflammatory conditions,” the team wrote. Researchers then tested what happened in mice that lacked EGFL7. They found that the mice developed MS earlier and that their blood-brain barrier membrane was less efficient at keeping immune cells out. Treatment with EGFL7 improved the disease severity in the MS mice and tightened the blood-brain barrier, they said. “In light of our findings, smaller EGFL7 agonists, in development for other diseases, could therefore constitute an appealing therapeutic avenue for MS,” the team concluded.

Eating fish once a week, or one to three times per month along with taking daily fish oil supplements, may help lower the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a preliminary study shows. These findings suggest that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish like salmon, tuna and shrimp may…

The Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) has awarded five young investigators for their research work on multiple sclerosis (MS). The awards were presented at the ACTRIMS Forum 2018, held Feb. 1-3 in San Diego,…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society gave its Impact Award to Bianca Weinstock-Guttman, MD, for her research and patient care in multiple sclerosis (MS). According to the society, the award is intended for “a business or individual whose leadership helps ensure those with MS live their best lives.” Weinstock-Guttman…

Inhibiting an oxidative stress enzyme reduced nerve cell damage and promoted the formation of new nerve cells, a multiple sclerosis study in mice showed. It also helped regenerate cells that produce the nerve cell-protecting myelin sheath, researchers said. The team used a mouse model of the progressive form of MS in…

Reprogramming skin cells into brain stem cells, then transplanting them into the central nervous system may reduce inflammation and reverse the nerve cell damage in progressive multiple sclerosis, a mouse study shows. Scientists have dubbed macrophages the immune system's big eaters because they engulf abnormal cells like cancer in addition to invaders like viruses and bacteria. Special classes of macrophages live in a number of organs, including the brain and spinal cord, where they’re called microglia. Although they protect the body, microglia can participate in the development of progressive forms of MS by attacking the central nervous system, causing nerve cell damage. MS is an autoimmune disease, or one in which the immune system can attack healthy tissue besides invaders. Recent studies have suggested that neural stem cells, which have the capacity to differentiate into any type of nerve cell, can regulate immune response and inflammation in the central nervous system. At one point, researchers obtained neural stem cells from embryos. But this technique generated only a fraction of the cells needed for treatments. Meanwhile, doctors have tried to avoid collecting stem cells from someone with a different genetic profile than the patient because this increases the risk that the immune system will attack them once they're transplanted. University of Cambridge scientists decided to try reprogramming skin cells into neural stem cells. The idea behind the mouse study was that using skin cells from the same person who will receive the stem cells will reduce the chance that the immune system will attack the stem cells. In the mouse study, the team discovered a link between higher than normal levels of a small metabolite, called succinate, and chronic MS. The metabolite prompts macrophages and microglia to generate inflammation in the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord. Transplanting neural stem cells and progenitors of these stem cells into the cerebrospinal fluid of mice improved the animals' chronic nerve cell inflammation. The stem cells reduced the animals' succinate levels and switched their macrophages and microglia from a pro- to an anti-inflammatory state. This led to a decrease in inflammation and less damage to the central nervous system. “Our mouse study suggests that using a patient’s reprogrammed cells could provide a route to personalized treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, including progressive forms of MS,” Stefano Pluchino, a principal researcher in Cambridge's Department of Clinical Neurosciences, said in a press release. “This is particularly promising as these cells should be more readily obtainable than conventional neural stem cells and would not carry the risk of an adverse immune response,” said Pluchino, the study's lead author. Luca Peruzzotti-Jametti, a Wellcome Trust research training fellow, said the discovery would not have been possible without a multidisciplinary collaboration. “We made this discovery by bringing together researchers from diverse fields, including regenerative medicine, cancer, mitochondrial biology, inflammation and stroke, and cellular reprogramming."

Comobidities are common in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the U.S., with the most frequent being high cholesterol and blood pressure, followed by gastrointestinal disease, thyroid disease, and anxiety, a database analysis reports. But distinctions exist between the sexes, this claims analysis found. High cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as diabetes…

United Arab Emirates scientists have found active Epstein-Barr virus in many multiple sclerosis patients’ brain cells, supporting the notion that it plays a role in the disease. The team found it in two types of brain cells — astrocytes and microglia. The virus can be active or lie dormant in…

Oxygen sensor proteins can regulate immune B-cell activity, preventing inflammation in autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, a study reports. The research, titled “Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α is a critical transcription factor for IL-10-producing B cells in autoimmune disease,” was published in Nature Communications. An autoimmune disease is one in…

New York researchers are doing a pilot study of whether a Mediterranean diet can reduce multiple sclerosis symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life.  Dr. Ilana B. Katz Sand, an assistant professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is leading…

Researchers found that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have increased heart problems suggestive of an intrinsic myocardial disease, and would benefit from cardiovascular examinations using more advanced techniques. The study, “Impaired Cardiac Function in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis by Comparison…

Degeneration of the brain’s deep gray matter is associated with more rapid disability in multiple sclerosis patients, a European study shows. The research, “Deep gray matter volume loss drives disability worsening in multiple sclerosis,” was published in the journal Annals of Neurology. Scientists know that loss…