January 16, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Long-term Rituxan Treatment Is Effective and Safe in MS, Study Shows The approved lymphoma therapy Rituxan (rituximab) has shown promise as a treatment for Ā multiple sclerosis. A new study indicates the Genentech treatment is effective and safe against neurological diseases like MS for up to seven years. The research, āLong-term safety of rituximab induced peripheral B-cell depletion in…
January 15, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Rituxan, Medical Marijuana for Canadians, Extavia, Atira Trial Newly Diagnosed MS Patients Stay Longer on Rituxan Than Other Therapies, Study Finds This is a study that identifies which disease-modifying drugs new MS patients stuck with and which they gave up. And, why they made those choices. But the study is small and was limited to…
January 11, 2018 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Newly Diagnosed MS Patients Stay Longer on Rituxan Than Other Therapies, Study Finds Multiple sclerosis patients whose first treatment is Genentech'sĀ Rituxan (rituximab) stay on it longer than other disease-modifying drugs that patients start with, a Swedish study reports. When they stop taking Rituxan, Ā it usually isn't for lack of effectiveness or side effects...
October 31, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – Scant Difference Seen in Inflammatory Response to Ocrevus or Rituxan in Small Study Both Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Rituxan (rituximab) trigger a similar release of inflammatory mediators after a first infusion, with little difference seen in infusion reactions among a small group ofĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with either therapy, said researchers from the Rocky Mountain MS Center at the University of…
May 30, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #CMSC17 – Rituxan-treated MS Patients Three Times More Likely to Have Improved Brain Scans Multiple sclerosis patients who start Rituxan (rituximab) treatment are three times more likely to have unchanged or improved brain-scan readings than worse ones, according to a study. Holy Name Medical CenterĀ researchers presented theĀ findings at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers annual meeting in New Orleans, May 24-27. The presentation…
May 5, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Switching from Rituxan to Ocrevus: An Interview with Dr. Timothy Vollmer on Both MS Treatments A multiple sclerosis (MS) trial now underway in Colorado is assessing the safety and tolerability ofĀ switching fromĀ Rituxan (rituximab)Ā toĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab),Ā and its lead investigator, Dr. Timothy L. Vollmer, largely expects no problems. The neurologist believes the two GenentechĀ therapies āĀ both antibody-based drugsĀ that target the CD20 molecule on B-cells ā…
April 19, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Are Ocrevus and Rituxan Similar? Neurologists Respond to Patients’ Concerns While manyĀ multiple sclerosis patients celebrated the recent approval of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), others argued that the drug is largelyĀ a rebranded version ofĀ rituximab. Rituximab ā sold as Rituxan for indications like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,Ā chronic lymphocytic leukemia, andĀ rheumatoid arthritis ā is used off-label to treat relapsing MS. In online forums and social media,…
August 8, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Best First-Line Treatment for Aggressive MS May Be Equally Aggressive Immunotherapies Patients with aggressive onset multiple sclerosis, characterized by a rapidly progressing disease course and accumulation of disability, may benefit from early aggressive therapies instead of the escalation approach commonly givenĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to researchers atĀ Weill-Cornell Medical College. Their article, titledĀ “A study of patients with…