RRMS

Patient dosing has begun in a Phase 2 trial testing Denali Therapeutics‘ investigational oral RIPK1 inhibitor SAR443820 in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The clinical trial (NCT05630547) seeks to enroll about 168 patients, age 18–60, with either relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), active and nonactive secondary progressive…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) seems to be equally effective at stabilizing disease activity in Black and white patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a U.S. study found. Disability levels and MRI disease markers remained generally unchanged over the two-year study in both groups, despite Black patients having more severe disability…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who are receiving oral disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are still more likely to experience a relapse or any form of disease activity if they are smokers, a study found. Researchers also observed that former smokers had a disease…

Aerobic training for up to three months significantly outperformed less-strenuous exercise at improving walking capacity among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. However, the benefits of aerobic exercise seem to be greater among patients without MS-related damage in the insula — a brain region involved in…

Researchers in Iran are conducting a clinical trial to test the effects of taking ginger supplements for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Ginger extracts have shown some promise in animal models of multiple sclerosis (MS), but no trial has yet determined the impact that ginger supplements may…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved TG Therapeutics‘ B-cell-depleting therapy ublituximab under the brand name Briumvi for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), the company announced. The approval covers clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and active secondary progressive…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) was equally effective in reducing disease activity after two years in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new study reports. The therapy also slowed disease progression in both groups, although a stronger effect was seen with RRMS patients…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have elevated levels of the lipocalin 2 (Lcn-2) protein in their stool samples, a marker for intestinal inflammation, compared with healthy controls, a study demonstrated. Among patients, findings also demonstrated those with high fecal Lcn-2 had changes in their gut microbiome, the collection…

Researchers have created a computer program that can simulate clinical trial responses for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), which may improve clinical trial design for novel disease-modifying therapies. The tool, called MS TreatSim, was described in the study, “In silico clinical trials for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis…

More than four years of treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) did not cause significant swelling of the macula — a part of the retina, found in the back of the eye, and important for visual clarity — in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a small study showed. While…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who are stable on rituximab treatment may receive the therapy at extended intervals without risking increased MS disease activity, according to a new study. In fact, a longer lag between infusions could potentially reduce the medication’s side effects, researchers say — noting,…

A reduction in the levels of an inflammatory molecule called chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) may serve as a biomarker of treatment response to Aubagio (teriflunomide) among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study suggests. After one year of treatment, patients with no evidence of disease activity…

Two years of treatment with the approved therapy >Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) was found to slow the loss of cerebral gray matter and whole brain volume — two markers of neurodegeneration — in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Notably, individuals on Copaxone…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who switch to Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) after discontinuing Gilenya (fingolimod) have fewer relapses than those who switch to Mavenclad (cladribine) or Tysabri (natalizumab), according to a new study. Rates of disability worsening were similar for Ocrevus and Tysabri, but patients who switched…

A dietary supplement called Neuroaspis plp10 significantly lowered relapse rates and slowed disability progression among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) on interferon beta medications, according to a small clinical trial in Greece. “The results of this study suggest that Neuroaspis plp10 may offer greater benefit to patients with RRMS…

Most adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who received Immunic Therapeutics‘ investigational therapy vidofludimus calcium have had no confirmed disability progression after two years of treatment. That’s according to new interim data from the open-label extension portion of the EMPhASIS trial, which has been running for nearly…

Medications account for the majority of costs related to managing multiple sclerosis (MS) in Italy, and secondary-progressive MS (SPMS) is associated with higher treatment and healthcare costs than those for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study looking at real-world data reported. “A bigger healthcare resource consumption was retrieved for…

Long-term use of the investigational BTK inhibitor evobrutinib among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) continues to maintain MS relapse rates, and keep MRI lesion activity low. That’s according to up to 3.5 years of data from a Phase 2 trial (NCT02975349) and its open-label…

Up to two years of Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) treatment was generally well-tolerated and led to significant decreases in disease activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a final analysis of data from the open-label EVOLVE-MS-1 Phase 3 clinical trial. Indirect comparisons of Vumerity-treated patients against those…

Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), an anti-CD20 therapy developed by Genentech, seems to be superior to rituximab at lowering relapse rates among patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to data from two large MS registries. Overall, the findings suggest that rituximab cannot be considered just as good as —…

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) is superior to Gilenya (fingolimod) and Tysabri (natalizumab) at preventing relapses and reducing disability in people with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In turn, aHSCT appears to be as effective as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in RRMS patients and also was…

Disability progression in the absence of relapses is less common in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) than among people with adult-onset disease, according to data covering more than 5,000 patients with relapsing forms of MS. Nevertheless, this form of progression — called progression independent of relapse activity,…

Nearly 80% of people with early-stage relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) show no evidence of disease activity after two years of treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), according to updated data from the ENSEMBLE Phase 3b trial. More than 88% of the patients were negative for MRI activity, meaning they…

Note: This story was updated Oct. 31, 2022, to correct that in the six months after treatment discontinuation, relapses were reported in 18.8% of RMMS patients and 3.5% of those with SPMS. When multiple sclerosis (MS) patients stop their disease-modifying treatment, the risk of relapses and disease activity on…

People with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) are nearly four times more likely to have serious infections — those leading to hospitalization — than those with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), according to a large study in Germany. This higher infection risk was found despite the fact that, during…

The levels of two cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, CHI3L1 and CXCL13, were significantly elevated in people with relapsing and progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) relative to control groups without this disease, and are most likely to predict how relapsing MS will progress, a study reported. Higher levels of these biomarkers were also…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) have lower cholesterol levels in their blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, compared with those without MS, a study reports. These lower cholesterol levels might correlate with a more…

The risk of transitioning from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) declined significantly after the introduction of disease-modifying therapies (DMT), according to a large nationwide Swedish study. Data showed that SPMS conversion risk rose by 3% each year before the first generation of…

The following multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories caught my eye last week: Stem cell transplant and nerve fiber damage This small study of 43 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) in Sweden reports that their disability during the period of…

Electrical stimulation of the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp may ease some measures of spasticity for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to results from a small clinical trial. Using this novel route of brain stimulation was shown to impact muscle contractions in patients with spasticity…