research

Some forms of multiple sclerosis are hereditary after all. After many years of saying that MS is not passed down the generations, new research now says the opposite. Although past studies have suggested that genetic risk factors could increase the risk of developing the disease, up until now, there has been…

One June 3, a workshop titled “Metabolism in MS and Related Conditions” was presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), held June 1-4 in National Harbor, Maryland. One of the speakers was Dr. David Sheikh-Hamad, professor of medicine-nephrology at Baylor College of…

A single genetic mutation in a gene called Nr1h3, can cause familial multiple sclerosis (MS), reported scientists from the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health. The study, “Nuclear Receptor NR1H3 in Familial Multiple Sclerosis” was published in the journal Neuron. The discovery…

Researchers at Texas Woman’s University identified tai chi as a beneficial therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with impaired balance, as it can improve their endurance and strength and decrease fatigue. The results of the study, “The Benefit of Tai Chi for Balance and Gait in People with…

Increasing evidence suggests that our gut microbiome is able to regulate brain processes and trigger neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Scientists from around the world discussed these themes at the recent Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen, Denmark. “The gut microbiome can influence the central…

Most research in multiple sclerosis (MS) has focused on the impact of the disease on the lower extremities. To balance this, researchers at Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Connecticut thoroughly characterized upper arm and hand functions in MS patients, finding that disease duration and disability level differently affected various…

Research from Indiana University School of Medicine showed that D3T – a compound that triggers copying of antioxidant genes and production of the antioxidant glutathione – delays disease development and lowers disease severity in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) animal models. The models mimicked multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans, advancing further exploration…

Data recently presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting showed that Roche/Genentech’s investigational drug ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) lowered the risk of disability progression in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a condition for which no approved treatments exist. The study was presented during the “…

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, was founded more than 35 years ago and has been focused on a variety of research fields, including cancer, immunology, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic diseases, and infectious diseases. Genentech has been committed to discovering and developing new medicines for patients with major diseases of the nervous…

Melissa A. Colbeck, an investigator at the Occupational Therapy, Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Canada, studied how different sensory processing approaches, cognition, and fatigue influence the quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings suggested that establishing a relationship between the three factors and quality of life…

Mayis Al Dughmi, of the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at the University of Kansas Medical Center, recently presented her findings on the relationship between fatigue, measured using the Neurological Fatigue Index (NFI-MS), and sleep quality and attentiveness in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings indicate that cognitive…

One of the highlights at the “Comprehensive Care in MS and Symptom Management” session of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting, was an attempt to address the exclusion of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) from the design and delivery of healthcare aimed at this…

People with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) are usually older and more disabled than those with relapsing-remitting MS, researchers at Washington University reported. The team is studying demographic and clinical characteristics of PPMS patients enrolled in the NARCOMS registry, to better understand their unmet needs and possibly improve research into potential treatments. The study, “…

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that visual function in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients correlates with cognitive function ands suggests that disease severity and outcomes of neuroprotective therapies in MS patients may be assessed through visual function measurements. The findings were recently presented in the oral presentation “…

The use of induced pluripotent stem cells to create disease-specific neurons and oligodendrocytes for the study of multiple sclerosis (MS) is hampered by the huge variability of features such cells possess. To get around this problem, researchers from Ohio State University created an atlas of how cell characteristics are linked…

While most multiple sclerosis (MS) researchers focus on the autoimmune and inflammatory processes of the disease, researchers at the Mind Research Network (MRN) believe that improving axonal function might contribute to better MS outcomes. Using Ampyra (dalfampridine), they thoroughly analyzed the function of nerve axon connections between the two brain…

Treadmill walking exercise training is beneficial for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, increasing not only their cardiorespiratory fitness, but also their cognitive processing speed, according to the study “Systematically Developed Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Exercise and Cognition in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis,” recently presented at the Consortium of Multiple…

Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) ithree institute are taking a novel approach in an attempt to halt disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). The scientists are planning to explore the anti-inflammatory potential of a controlled infection by parasitic worms as a way of preventing the harmful over-inflammation observed in MS and…

Researchers detected the expression of the gene ANKRD55  in immune cells, a gene that has been previously linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice models of the disease. The results suggest a potential role of ANKRD55 in MS pathogenesis. The study, “Novel Insights into the Multiple Sclerosis Risk Gene ANKRD55,”…

How would you feel about following a calorie-restricted diet, if it might reverse the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and help repair the damage caused by the disease? Scientists are so excited about the findings achieved so far that they are moving to large-scale human trials, and have already taken the unusual…

Mitochon Pharmaceuticals announced the completion of a second year of financing, raising a total $1.6 million to advance its lead compound, MP101, a mitochondrial targeted neuro-protective agent, into clinical testing. The company is developing mitochondrial modulators for patients with neurodegenerative diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to multiple sclerosis (MS). A number of studies have…

Yissum Research Development Company, an arm of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has entered into an agreement with Aurum Ventures MKI to develop a diagnostic blood test for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and a range of other diseases, which uses differences in DNA from dying cells found in the blood of sick individuals.

The University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine and Chiba University School of Medicine, Japan, are working together to establish a new center for immunology research, with a particular focus on the microbiome and mucosal immune responses that are known to play a crucial role in a variety of diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). “This…

A mutation in a mouse model of the John Cunningham (JC) virus, which causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), allows the virus to evade the host immune responses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study into the mechanisms of PML. Infection with the JC virus most often passes unnoticed in healthy…

Researchers at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, recently showed that peripheral blood cells loaded with a drug that resembles the myelin protein are able to inhibit harmful immune responses and prevent relapses in a mouse model of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings were described in the study “…

Holidays abroad may hold the key to tackling Scotland’s vitamin D deficiency, a University of Edinburgh study suggests. The study, “Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney,” was published in the journal PloS One. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, complex disease…

Previous studies suggested that multiple sclerosis (MS) and Hodgkin lymphoma might share underlying causes, including exposure to microorganisms in childhood, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. In the study “Multiple sclerosis and risk of young-adult-onset Hodgkin lymphoma,” published in the journal Neurology: Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation, researchers suggested that…

Children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) differ from others in the composition of their gut flora, with higher levels of inflammation-causing bacteria and lower levels of anti-inflammatory bacteria, according to a study from  the University of British Columbia, Canada. The findings, supporting previous hypotheses that the composition of the gut microbial community could influence the development…

Sanofi Genzyme announced that it entered into a research collaboration with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to better understand the underlying causes of disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). Sanofi Genzyme has a number of research partnerships with MS academic medical centers, focused on exploring the pathogenesis of MS and potential new…

Researchers investigating immune B-cell response to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) found that it may correlate with the amount of brain-specific B-cells in the blood — a marker of multiple sclerosis (MS) — and with higher disease activity. The findings were published in the journal Viruses, in…