research

I knew it was only a matter of time before my MS neurologist would have MS PATHS available to collect clinical data from people who have agreed to participate. MS PATHS is an information- and biological sample-gathering clinical study from Biogen, the leading manufacturer of multiple sclerosis disease-modifying…

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be developing the disease for up to five years before the first clinical diagnosis is made, a study has found. The study, “Health-care use before a first demyelinating event suggestive of a multiple sclerosis prodrome: a matched cohort study,” was published…

Many life-affecting decisions are made at the time of an MS diagnosis. Top of the list? The moment you decide your course of treatment. In my case, the decision was entirely up to me. This isn’t typical, I’ve discovered. Many people with MS aren’t…

Everything around us, and within us, begins with science. Science is important to the future of humanity’s well-being. Science is what makes the world go around. We all think it’s love, but actually, at its core, love begins with chemistry. Biological…

Greek researchers have developed a new bioinformatics tool to identify potential therapies for chronic inflammatory diseases. Using this approach, they identified and confirmed the therapeutic potential of two small molecules to target a protein called TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) that is active in  multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. Their…

Real-world data of treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) and Tysabri (natalizumab) in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients suggest that treatment at early disease stages improves outcomes and prevents disability development. The studies, presented by Biogen at the American Academy of Neurology 2017 Annual Meeting in Boston, might challenge the…

A real-world study of Gilenya (fingolimod) in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) confirms benefits of the treatment seen in clinical trials. The Novartis-sponsored study also demonstrated that measures of brain shrinkage can be used in a clinical setting to evaluate disease progression. The data, presented at the American Academy of…

An investigational treatment called ATA188 that wipes out B-cells targeting the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has shown promise as a multiple sclerosis treatment, a Phase 1 clinical trial involving a small patient group indicates. The trial, conducted in Australia, covered six people with primary or secondary progressive MS. B-cells are a…

Many decisions to stop taking the multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri (natalizumab) appear to be based largely on subjective factors such as patients’ or physicians’ view of the risk, rather than objective assessments of the risk, a study indicates. Tysabri is an approved immunotherapy for active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Despite its benefits, there…

A combination of mutations in two genes makes members of a Canadian family a 7-in-10 chance of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) — a radical increase from the 1-in-1,000 risk among the general population, according to a study that illustrates the huge impact certain genes can have on disease development. Interestingly, the…

A 60-year longitudinal multiple sclerosis (MS) study in a Norwegian cohort analyzing life expectancy, survival and mortality concluded that MS patients live shorter lives and have higher mortality than the general population. The report, “Survival and cause of death in multiple sclerosis: a 60-year longitudinal population study,”…

A lot has changed in multiple sclerosis research and treatment since I was diagnosed 30 years ago. Here are a few things I was told originally that are no longer true: There’s less than a 1% chance for a child to inherit their mother’s…

A physical scaffold that allows lab-grown brain cells to grow in a three-dimensional manner is giving scientists a whole new way of studying the regeneration of myelin, nerve coatings whose damage is at the heart of multiple sclerosis. The scaffold is allowing researchers to test large numbers of compounds for…

Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Canada, World’s Multiple Sclerosis Capital, Launches 3-Way Collaboration to Research MS Progression Why some people develop primary progressive MS and others have the relapsing type, and why a many relapsing patients develop secondary…

Ampyra (dalfampridine) shows long-term efficacy in improving walking ability in people with multiple sclerosis, according to a study evaluating the treatment’s use in progressive and relapsing MS patients over two years. The study, “Monitoring long-term efficacy of fampridine in gait-impaired patients with multiple sclerosis,” was published in the…

Multiple Sclerosis News Today interviewed Dr. Linard Filli,
 an MS researcher at the University Hospital Zurich involved in clinical studies of prolonged release Ampyra (dalfampridine), on walking ability in MS patients, and Dr. Andrew Blight, chief scientific officer at Acorda Therapeutics, the treatment’s developer. Here is a full transcript of that interview. An…

More than 2,000 bicyclists are expected to join in the 30th Annual Running of the Bike MS: Sam’s Club Round-Up Ride, set for May 6-7 in Fort Worth, Texas. The two-day, 163-mile trek’s objective is to raise $1.8 million in funding for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Last year, participants pedaled 279,000 miles…

Three Canadian entities — Toronto-based Biogen Canada and the MS Society of Canada, and Montreal-based Brain Canada — have jointly invited researchers to establish a multiple sclerosis (MS) progression cohort in Canada. The $7 million nationwide MS Progression Cohort offers a timely opportunity to investigate some of the biggest challenges in curing progressive MS, such as…

The use of antibiotics in childhood, which alters the microbiome — or natural bacteria flora in the gut — may increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other inflammatory diseases, according to an Australian study. The mouse study, “Early-life antibiotic treatment enhances the…

A prominent neurologist, who was involved in early research into B-cell therapy, tells Multiple Sclerosis News Today about his positive experience of using ocrelizumab, now branded Ocrevus, with patients. Michael Racke, MD, Department of Neurology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center took time to talk with me about…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), now approved for both relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), is expected to become available in the coming week. While patients and neurologists are waiting, Multiple Sclerosis News Today spoke to Genentech about the treatment’s approval, future research plans, and what patients can expect in terms…

Nektar Therapeutics has started a Phase 1 clinical trial of its biologic therapy NKTR-358 for inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. NKTR-358 is a first-in-class regulatory T-cell stimulator designed to correct the immune system dysfunction associated with these disorders. It targets regulatory T-cells, or Tregs. Other immunosuppressant therapies suppress the…

Dr. Stephen Hauser, chair of the neurology department at the University of California San Francisco, was instrumental in the early research and later clinical trials that ultimately led to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), the first therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for both relapsing MS (RMS) and primary progressive multiple sclerosis…

Scientists at the University of Maryland have developed an experimental treatment to control the immune system and recover movement in a paralyzed mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). The team presented its research April 2 during the 253rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco. In…

Interest in  Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), the first FDA-approved treatment for both relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis, is running high among patients and the organization representing them — as, arguably, are expectations of its use. But how do physicians involved in MS care view the newcomer? Dr. Robert Lisak (Photo courtesy…

Brain stem cells from primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) patients lack the ability to repair brain damage and to trigger the maturation of protective myelin-producing cells, a surprising study with far-reaching implications indicates. The study also showed that stem cells from individual patients reacted differently to compounds developed to trigger…

British scientists have accelerated from weeks to days the process by which stem cells generate brain cells, which could open the door to new treatment approaches for diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and colleagues at the University of Cambridge developed the…

Using a small RNA molecule belonging to the family of microRNAs (miRs), scientists could restore myelin in nerve cells and improve limb function in mouse models of human multiple sclerosis (MS). The study, “miR-219 Cooperates with miR-338 in Myelination and Promotes Myelin Repair in the CNS,” was published in…

Mothers with chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, have a higher risk of having children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a Norwegian study. The findings were reported in a study titled “Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Offspring of Mothers With Inflammatory and Immune System Diseases”…

CGEN-15001, which could become the first tolerance-inducing therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune conditions, is on the agenda of a scientific conference in Canada that is going on now and another conference in May. The first CGEN-15001 presentation that Compugen is delivering is at the Keystone Symposia: Immune Regulation in Autoimmunity and…