February 1, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Pediatric MS, Rituximab, AHSCT, Zeposia Tecfidera Safe and Effective Over Long Term in Children With RRMS, Trial Shows In my view, too little attention has been paid to treating children and teens with MS between the ages of 10 and 18. Though things seem to be improving, only one disease-modifying therapy, Novartisā Gilenya (fingolimod),…
January 29, 2021 News by Forest Ray PhD Rituximab Effects Evident at Low Dose, Persist After Treatment Stops Rituximab shows long-term benefits, even among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) who stopped its use or reduced their dose, a study reported. Researchers found little evidence of disease reactivation among patients who discontinued the medication, and an adequate inflammatory disease suppression…
October 7, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Rituximab Seen to Affect How B-cells Return After Treatment Stops Rituximab, an investigational B-cell depletion therapy that target CD20 to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS),Ā has significant effects on the characteristics of B-cells that return after treatment is stopped, with cells being less mature yet more activated toward a pro-inflammatory state, a study showed. Treatment also…
September 30, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Rituximab, Ocrevus Linked to Higher Risk of Worse COVID-19 Outcomes The use of certain disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) such asĀ rituximabĀ andĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), which lower the number of a patient’s immune B-cells,Ā may increase the odds of developing a more severeĀ COVID-19 disease course for people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The study, which includes data from the…
September 24, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Restarting Rituxan: One Down, and a Lifetime to Go Last week, I again started my twice-annual infusion of Rituxan (rituximab). After 384 days without my disease-modifying therapy, my team decided I could no longer wait. In its absence, my symptomology had worsened. Halting progression trumped a pandemic, and with personal protective equipment in place, I begin…
September 14, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 ā Low Rituximab Doses Are Safer, as Effective as Higher Ones Low doses of rituximab, an anti-inflammatory medication used off-label to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), are safer and as effective as higher doses at reducing the frequency of relapses and the number of MS lesions, a clinical study shows. The study findings were presented at MSVirtual2020 by Luciana…
September 11, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – GeNeuro’s Temelimab Found Safe When Given Alongside Rituximab Temelimab, GeNeuroās investigative treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), showed a favorable safety profile when given alongside rituximab, according to preclinical safety experiments performed in preparation for the companyās new Phase 2 trial involving patients with relapsing MS. Data from the preclinical experiments, along with details of…
August 31, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Paramagnetic Lesions, Mavenclad, Relapses in Children, Ocrevus and Rituximab Paramagnetic Rim Lesions Showing Promise as Diagnostic Marker of MS About a year ago, researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health reported that the presence of chronic active lesions in the brain may provide a clue as to how quickly multiple sclerosis symptoms will progress. They called them…
August 26, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Infection Risk Higher for Ocrevus Than Rituximab, But Cancer Risk Lower Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a second-generation anti-CD20 antibody, may be associated with a greater risk of infections. But it carries a lower risk of cancer and immune reactions than first-generation rituximab inĀ people with multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), according to a real-life study. The higher incidence of infections linked with Ocrevus’…
August 11, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Rituximab More Effective Than Gilenya, Tecfidera, and Comparable to Tysabri, Study Finds Rituximab is more effective and leads to fewer treatment discontinuations in people with multiple sclerosisĀ (MS)Ā than Gilenya (fingolimod) and Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), according to real-world data based on two years of therapy. Rituximabās effectiveness appeared to be comparable to that of Tysabri (natalizumab), but with fewer…
April 28, 2020 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Rituximab May Prevent MS if Given at Earliest Disease Signs, Mouse Study Suggests Using rituximab to preventĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) in people at risk or in patients still without motor symptoms, and continuing treatment as the disease develops, may be a promising way to avoid inflammation andĀ myelinĀ loss in the brain, a study in mice suggests. In an animal model of MS,…
April 16, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Manifesting Change with SPMS The state of our world lies heavy on my shoulders. I worry about and miss my family. Our geographical distance, although unchanged, seems to have grown exponentially. Is everyone so far, or am I so very confined? I understand how a prisoner in solitary confinement finds his own perception…
April 1, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Biosimilar Truxima Works as Well as Rituximab Originator in MS, Study Finds Truxima, aĀ biosimilar of rituximab, is comparable to the originator therapy in terms of effectiveness and safety for treatingĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests. Rituximab āĀ marketed asĀ RituxanĀ in the United States ā isĀ an antibody-based therapy thatĀ works by killing B-cells, which are immune cells…
March 19, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell An Outlier with MS, Coronavirus Nears as I Self-isolate āItās the end of the world as we know it.ā ā R.E.M. Welcome to the world of COVID-19. Coronaviruses arenāt new: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) are both coronaviruses. But this uninvited guest, COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, has…
March 18, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Gilenya Linked to Slightly Increased Cancer Risk in MS, Swedish Study Suggests The risk of invasive cancer may be slightly higher in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with GilenyaĀ (fingolimod) compared with those treated with rituximab, and with people from the general population, a Swedish study suggests. The study, āCancer Risk for Fingolimod, Natalizumab, and Rituximab…
March 4, 2020 News by Ana Pena PhD #ACTRIMS2020 – 3 Ways to Treat MS by Altering Gut Microbiome Under Study Modulating the bacteria that reside in the gut by treatingĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with probiotics, fecal transplants, or gut-related microRNAs may help to ease inflammation and disease severity,Ā researchers withĀ Brigham and Women’s Hospital suggest. Howard Weiner, MD, a group leader at the hospital, presented his team’s findings on…
February 12, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Rituximab Appears Safe for Women to Use While Breastfeeding, Small Study Finds RituximabĀ is barely detected in breast milk of women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who took the therapy while breastfeeding their child, small study shows. Results suggest that women with RRMS can continue with a disease-modifying treatment while breastfeeding. The study āMinimal breast milk transfer of…
January 23, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell The Rise of Superbugs, Antibiotic Resistance, and MS I am living with an unenviable reality. An antibiotic-resistant, hospital-acquired infection that I developed two decades ago has reappeared. Before my multiple sclerosis diagnosis, I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted for pain control. Although the stimulator was removed shortly afterward, the infection remained. This infection presents itself when…
January 17, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias Stem Cells Versus DMTs: MS Treatments Go Head to Head People with multiple sclerosis have been waiting for this: A full-scale clinical trial testing the effectiveness of stem cell transplantation as an MS treatment. The trial is being conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and it’s enrolling people with MSĀ at several centers in the United States and…
November 14, 2019 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Filtering Ads and Choosing What’s Best I remember a time without televised ads promoting medication. We had access to information through our physician or a card catalog. Pharmaceuticals are now a mainstay on our airwaves. And although prevalent, these ads previously had been inapplicable to me. Until now. An ad for Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) aired a…
October 17, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Rituximab Linked to Greater Risk of Infections in MS Patients in Real-world Swedish Study Newer disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) are effective but also known to carry a greater risk of infections in a patient group already more likely to be troubled by infections ā and this higher risk is particularly evident in treatment with rituximab, a DMT often used off-label in…
October 15, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Ofatumumab Part of ‘Magnificent Success Story’ for MS, ASCLEPIOS Trial Investigator Says Ofatumumab, anĀ investigational B-cell therapy being developed by Novartis, demonstrated encouraging results in lowering relapse rates and active brain lesions in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) enrolled in the ASCLEPIOS trials. For Stephen L. Hauser, MD, an investigator in the ASCLEPIOS trials, these results represent a…
October 7, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Rituximab vs. Ocrevus In this week’s column, I’ve changed the format a little to focus on one subject: rituximab. This is an approved cancer medication that some U.S. neurologists use as an off-label treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). Rituximab is similar to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). When the latter disease-modifying therapy (DMT) became available in…
October 4, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Is Rituximab a Reasonable Option for MS Patients? No, Researcher Says Editorās note: This is the third story in a three-part report examining the question, āIs rituximab a reasonable alternative treatment for MS?ā, which was a topic discussed at this yearās Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). Here, we take an in-depth look…
October 4, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Is Rituximab a Reasonable Option for MS Patients? Yes, Researcher Says Editorās note: This is the second story in a three-part report examining the question, āIs rituximab a reasonable alternative treatment for MS?ā, which was a topic discussed at this yearās Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). Here, we take an in-depth look…
October 4, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Is Rituximab a Reasonable Option for MS Patients? Editorās note: This is the first story in a three-part report examining the question, āIs rituximab a reasonable alternative treatment for MS?ā, which was a topic discussed at this yearās Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). Here, we provide a synopsis of…
August 26, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Rituximab Helps Reverse Boy’s MS, Top Secondary DMTs in Europe, Tricking Remyelination, Early MS Treatment Strategies Rituximab Leads to āDramaticā Recovery in Boy with Aggressive RRMS, Case Study Reports I dislike using adjectives such as “dramatic” when describing treatment results. I think they frequently blow things out of proportion. However, after reading about how this young boy in Greece responded to Rituximab as a “rescue…
August 23, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD Rituximab Leads to ‘Dramatic’ Recovery in Boy with Aggressive RRMS, Case Study Reports Treatment with rituximabĀ ā sold as RituxanĀ in the U.S. by RocheĀ and Biogen, and asĀ MabThera byĀ Roche in Europe ā reversed disease course in a “dramatic fashion,” leading to complete remission in a 12-year-old boy with aggressiveĀ relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a case report states. The report, “…
August 7, 2019 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Autoimmune Complications Associated with Lemtrada Solved Using Anti-CD20 Therapies, Case Studies Suggest Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) patients treated with LemtradaĀ (alemtuzumab) may develop additional (secondary) autoimmune reactions. Anti-CD20 therapies, including rituximabĀ or Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), are a potential treatment for Lemtrada-associated autoimmune complications in patients who fail to respond to other conventional immunotherapies, according to a case report about two women in…
August 1, 2019 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell We Are Strong ā We Have No Other Choice I recently saw a greeting card that read, āYou never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.ā No truer words. While I am grateful for my strength, there are moments when I would like another choice. Maybe it is a mind game. Perhaps I would…