research

In people with multiple sclerosis (MS), lesions that get slowly bigger over time, potentially due to chronic inflammation, are associated with more myelin loss throughout the brain, a study found. Loss of myelin was observed in these slowly expanding lesions, in other types of lesions, and also in regions…

Using a simple algorithm to recommend highly effective disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can help make treatment fairer for all patients, and level inequalities otherwise defined by race or ethnicity, a new study by U.S. researchers suggests. Indeed, use of the algorithm over a…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who switch from a high- to a moderate-efficacy disease-modifying therapy (DMT) increase their risk of disease activity, especially younger adults and those having inflammatory disease activity before a switch, a study finds. Knowing these factors “can help guide future studies on deescalation,” researchers…

Note: This story was updated March 6, 2025, to clarify the specific disability measures and results assessed in each trial. Sanofi’s experimental BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib may be more effective at reducing the risk of disability accumulation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have evidence of paramagnetic…

A new model that combines genetic and symptom-based risk scores to predict the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) could help to accelerate the disease’s diagnosis, and allow patients to receive earlier treatment, a team of U.S. researchers noted in a study. In a presentation detailing this work at this…

Proposed revisions to the McDonald criteria, a set of diagnostic guidelines for multiple sclerosis (MS), may help diagnose people who could have been missed under earlier versions, according to a recent analysis. That includes people with radiological-only onset, when there are signs of disease on MRI scans but…

Note: This study was updated March 3, 2025, to correct that a ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. Eating a version of the low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet for six months led to an anti-inflammatory shift in immune cell populations among people with stable, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)…

Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) may have a beneficial effect on paramagnetic rim lesions — known as PRL, these are a type of chronic inflammatory lesion — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a newly shared analysis. PRLs, a form of nerve damage seen in MS, have…

Immune cells from people with multiple sclerosis (MS) exhibit distinct gene activity just before patients have a disease relapse, according to recent research. The observed immune perturbations, which are no longer observed by the time the relapse is actively underway, are consistent with the body’s response to a reactivation…

A noninvasive brain stimulation technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) doesn’t seem to ease fatigue in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) when given at home with computer-based cognitive training, according to one of the largest studies of its kind. While the home-based intervention was deemed feasible, combining daily…

A statistical model that takes clinical and demographic factors into account could help guide treatment decisions in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who haven’t yet started on a multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy, a study reports. “Our study offers a predictive tool that fulfills an unmet need for…

Over the past decade, diagnoses of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Finland have become faster and treatments now follow the latest evidence, with about five times as many patients receiving high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as first-line options, a study finds. Drawing on registry data, researchers found that diagnoses are…

Antibodies against a protein found in neurons and in nerve supporting cells, may play a role in driving multiple sclerosis (MS), a study indicates. Researchers examined immune responses against more than 23,000 human proteins, and the MLC1 protein emerged as one of the top hit proteins targeted by immune…

Interactions between the body’s immune system and bacteria that live in the digestive tract — essentially, a person’s gut — become disrupted in multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study by U.S. researchers found. The human intestines are home to billions of bacteria and other microorganisms, collectively known as the…

Using an implantable scaffold to collect immune cells in mice, researchers have gained insights into the immunological mechanisms driving primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Based on the findings, the scientists developed a treatment strategy to block specific inflammatory molecules, which eased MS severity in the mouse model. The study,…

Switching from anti-CD20 medications to less effective fumarate therapies is linked to reduced healthcare visits and costs related to infections after a year, without affecting the rate of relapses in stable multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s according to an analysis of a U.S. healthcare claims database, which compared switchers against…

In a new deal, TG Therapeutics will use MaxCyte’s engineering technology to develop and manufacture its off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy candidate azercabtagene zapreleucel — azer-cel for short — for adults with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The experimental treatment is being advanced toward a Phase 1…

Smoking and obesity are both independently associated with faster disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), but when both risk factors are present together, a synergistic effect results in faster disease progression than can be explained by either alone. “Smoking and obesity significantly interacted to increase the risk of disability…

Mikael Simons, MD, a neurologist at Technical University Munich, has been awarded this year’s $125,000 Barancik Prize for his extensive research on myelin, a protective coating that sheathes nerve cells and becomes damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS). Run by the National MS Society and funded by the Charles…

Less frequent Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) infusions are as effective as standard dosing — when treatment is given typically every six months — for controlling multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity, but may help limit the risk of side effects, a new study reports. “These findings suggest that [extended-interval dosing] could…

A three-month course of acupuncture was associated with gains in certain aspects of cognition for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in a small clinical trial. The traditional Chinese medicine was also linked to less fatigue, improved sleep, and reductions in certain psychological problems such as depression. The findings…

Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) face a significantly higher risk of mental illness during and after pregnancy than those without the disease, according to a new study that analyzed data from more than 890,000 women in Canada. Mental health issues, mostly anxiety and depression, affected 42% of women…

Intranasal foralumab can modulate a number of immune cell types in people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a study showed, revealing new immune biomarkers that show how the therapy exerts its effects in people with the condition. After three months of treatment, gene activity data showed that…

Enigma Biomedical has entered into an agreement with Neuraly to use its PET imaging tracer PMI04 to visualize microglia activity in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Microglia are resident immune cells in the brain that are believed to play a role in driving…

A 14-week regimen of physical therapy combined with PoNS — a neurostimulator device used to improve mobility — led to significant gait improvements in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), with evidence that its benefits are sustained over time, according to new data from the real-world PoNSTEP clinical study.

Tech company Century Health has entered into a partnership to organize and clean Nira Medical‘s datasets from more than 3,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to help make clinical data more available for researchers to explore insights toward developing new treatments. “We’re thrilled to partner with Nira…

The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has cleared Pheno Therapeutics to initiate a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial to test its oral candidate PTD802 in healthy volunteers. The therapy is a selective small molecule antagonist, or inhibitor, of the GPR17 receptor and is designed to restore…

TG Therapeutics is working to develop a subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, version of Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy), its approved therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The company said it plans to start a pivotal clinical program this year which could support an application seeking approval of the…

Gadoquatrane, a contrast agent Bayer is developing for use in MRI scans, is able to detect regions of damage and other disease-related features while using 60% less gadolinium — a chemical element used to enhance an MRI — compared with existing gadolinium-based contrast agents. That’s according to new data…

For women with multiple sclerosis (MS), disability starts to worsen significantly faster after menopause, according to a new study. “The study shows that menopause represents a unique factor in MS progression, even when we take into consideration the effects of aging,” Riley Bove, MD, study co-author at the University…