September 12, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD No greater risk of hospitalization found after vaccines in MS in study People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who receive vaccines against influenza ā commonly known as flu shots ā as well as diphtheria, polio, pneumoccocus, and multiple other pathogens are not significantly more likely to be hospitalized due to a disease relapse, according to a new study in France. Similar…
May 12, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Stress-reducing Activities Linked to Lower Risk of Depression, Fatigue Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients undertaking stress-reducing activities ā particularly physical and relaxation activities or meditation ā at least once a week are less likely to have depression, an international study shows. Additional links were found between physical activity and reduced risk of fatigue, and between meditation and a greater…
May 10, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD B-cell-depleting Therapies May Increase Risk of Psoriasis Reports of psoriasis ā an autoimmune skin disease that shares some biological processes with multiple sclerosis (MS) ā are disproportionally high among MS patients on therapies that deplete B-cells, according to a U.S. study based on patient adverse event data. Conversely, patients on Tysabri (natalizumab), glatiramer acetate (sold…
January 12, 2022 News by Yedida Y Bogachkov PhD Cognitive Dysfunction Found to Increase Risk of Death in MS Cognitive dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is predictive of worse outcomes, including clinical progression of the disease and a higher risk of mortality, according to a new study. “This review revealed that cognitive dysfunction … was associated with higher odds of transitioning from [a] relapsingāremitting course to…
December 10, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS National MS Society Funds 13 New Research Projects The National MS Society has announced it is funding 13 new research projects that seek to better understand the risk factors involved in multiple sclerosis (MS) development and progression. The funding ā nearly $7 million in total ā also will go to “rescue” 22 MS-related research projects that…
December 8, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Greater Sense of Life Control May Curb Depression Having a greater sense of control over life circumstances ā a coping resource called mastery ā is associated with a significantly lower risk of future depression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, an international study shows. The findings suggest that developing greater mastery may prevent MS patients from developing depression,…
November 22, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Lesser Right-hand Dominance May Be Linked to More Severe MS Inconsistently switching between hands for most common manual activities ā or naturally choosing the left rather than the right hand ā may be associated with more severe multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), either in the form of younger age at diagnosis or progressive type, particularly in women, a small study suggests. These…
November 2, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Never Drinking Alcohol Tied to ‘Significantly’ Higher MS Risk Not drinking alcohol significantly increases the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), especially if a person also is a current or former smoker, according to a new study. These findings add to the knowledge, discovered in multiple previous studies, that alcohol decreases the activity of the immune system. According…
October 28, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Mono as Child or Teenager Tied to Risk of MS as Adult in Large Study People who contract infectious mononucleosis ā colloquially known as “mono” ā during childhood or adolescence are at a roughly two to three times greater risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults, a large population-based study suggests. Notably, the study points to mono itself ā independent of other factors…
September 8, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Risk of MS Relapse Not Increased by COVID-19 Vaccine, Study Finds Getting the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 does not increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses in the two months following vaccination, according to a new study. The results support recommending COVID-19 vaccines for people with MS, its researchers said. “The incidence of relapses in the 2āmonths before and…
September 8, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Serious Infections in Adolescence Linked to Increased MS Risk Experiencing serious infections during adolescence is tied to an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life, but those occurring in childhood don’t increase MS risk, according to a new Swedish study. The study also found that certain types of infections, especially those that affect the central…
August 23, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Variant in STK11 Gene Tied to Greater MS Risk for Black People in US A variation in a gene calledĀ STK11, previously shown to increase the risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) among Caucasians, is now also linked to a greater likelihood of MS in Black people. In fact, the variation was significantly more common in Black MS patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS),…
August 2, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Risk of Severe COVID-19 Not Raised by Immunosuppressive DMTs Exposure to multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), and particularly immunosuppressive DMTs, does not increase the risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19, or of dying from the disease, when adjusting for known risk factors, an Austrian registry-based study found. These findings add to data showing no…
July 23, 2021 News by Somi Igbene, PhD Hypertension Triples Disability Risk in Hispanic/Latino MS Patients Hypertension ā high blood pressure ā triples the risk of severe walking disability in Hispanic and Latino people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new observational study reports. The study, āHypertension and hypertension severity in Hispanics/Latinx with MS,ā was published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal. Although…
May 20, 2021 News by Aisha I Abdullah PhD Vitamin D Binding Protein a Potential Biomarker in MS Lower blood levels of vitamin D binding protein, known as VDBP, were observed in newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in a new study ā findings that suggest the protein could potentially act as a biomarker for the neurodegenerative disease. āThe…
April 14, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD WNT9B Genetic Variant Linked to Increased Relapse Risk A genetic variant in the WNT9B gene and vitamin D response are both associated with a greater risk of relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a recent study in Belgium has found. The study, āGenetic variation inĀ WNT9BĀ increases relapse hazard in multiple sclerosis,ā was published in the journal…
March 23, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Certain Factors Worsen Outcomes in MS Patients With COVID-19 People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have more extensive mobility issues are more likely to have worse outcomes from COVID-19, a new study indicates. The study findings also indicate that COVID-19-associated outcomes are worse among MS patients who are Black, older, have heart-related diseases, and who were treated with…
March 2, 2021 News by Forest Ray PhD #ACTRIMS2021 – COVID-19 Vaccines Safe for MS Patients, Minimally Affected by DMTs Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25ā27. GoĀ hereĀ to see all the latest stories from the conference. The currently approved COVID-19 vaccines pose little to no risk to people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and…
February 26, 2021 News by Forest Ray PhD #ACTRIMS2021 – 30 Minutes in Sun Each Day Lowers MS Risk in Children Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25ā27. GoĀ hereĀ to see all the latest stories from the conference. Spending more time in the summer sun and living in generally sunnier places appears to provide protection against…
February 16, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Rituximab Before or During Pregnancy Not Linked to Major Complications Treatment with rituximabĀ before or during pregnancy was not associated with major pregnancy or infant complications, according to a case series of 19 women with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. These findings add to the limited available evidence on the use of rituximab by expectant mothers either…
February 11, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD KIF5A Protein Levels in CSF May Act as Biomarker of Progressive MS The levels of KIF5A protein are elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ā the liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord ā of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) and, further, are correlated with disease progression measures in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), a new study shows. These…
February 8, 2021 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD No Added Risk of Pregnancy Complications for Women With MS, Study Finds Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are not at a higher risk than those without the disease of having pregnancy complications, such as gestational diabetes, requiring an emergency cesarean section (c-section), or having a preterm or stillbirth delivery, according to the results of a new study. Yet, the study’s findings…
January 7, 2021 News by Aisha I Abdullah PhD Obesity, High BMI Linked to Greater MS Risk, Autoimmune Activity Obesity and a higher body mass index (BMI) are associated with both increased multiple sclerosis (MS) risk and harmful autoimmune activity that is induced by leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells, a study finds. These results indicate that leptin, which helps regulate…
January 6, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Less Sunlight Means More Risk of Relapse, Disability, Studies Assert Reduced exposure to sunlight, previously reported as a risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS), also seems to increase the risk for relapse and worsening disability, data from two clinical studies suggest. The beneficial effects of sunlight exposure were linked to increased levels of vitamin D, but also modulation…
December 17, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Restoring Neuregulin-1 beta 1 Protein Levels May Help Halt MS Progression The levels of a protein called Neuregulin-1 beta 1 (Nrg-1beta1) decline with the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests. The findings support the potential of Nrg-1beta1 as a predictor of MS risk and progression and suggest that restoring its levels may help halt disease…
November 30, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Fewer Pregnancies, Premature Menopause Linked to Early Onset of Progressive MS Women who have never given birth are more likely to develop early onset of progressive multiple sclerosis, according to a new study, which also found that a woman’s number of pregnancies showed a positive effect in delaying the disease. In addition, entering menopause earlier, before the age of 46,…
November 13, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MSIF Issues New Recommendations to Protect Against COVID-19 The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) has issued new recommendations about how people with MS should adjust their daily lives because of the coronavirus pandemic. The MSIF, a network of national MS societies from around the world, first issued COVID-19 recommendations last spring. But much has been learned…
October 19, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Variation in Given Gene May Raise Depression Risk Among MS Patients A genetic variant may make depressionĀ more likely inĀ certain people with multiple sclerosis (MS) than others, a genome-wideĀ study in patients indicates. The study, “Depression in multiple sclerosis patients associated with risk variant near NEGR1,” was published inĀ Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. Depression is characterized by…
September 28, 2020 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS High Co-occurrence of Psychiatric, Cardiovascular Diseases in MS, Study Reports People with multiple sclerosis (MS) show a high occurrence of comorbidities ā two diseases occurring in one person at the same time ā with psychiatric and cardiovascular diseases being the most common, a new study reports. Having another co-existing disorder was found to have an impact on MS…
September 24, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Older Age at DMT Discontinuation Linked to Sustained NEDA in CIS Patients Older age at disease-modifying therapy (DMT) discontinuation is the main predictive factor of sustained “no evidence of disease activity” (NEDA) in people starting DMT immediately after being diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), according to a study in Austria. In particular, patients discontinuing DMT at age 45 or…