November 11, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS sNfL Levels Linked to Relapse-free Disability Progression, Move to SPMS Measuring levels of the protein serum neurofilament light chain (NfL)Ā can help to identify people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) at higher risk of relapse-free disability progression or conversion to secondary-progressive disease, according to a study from Germany. The study, “NfL predicts relapse-free progression in a longitudinal…
October 21, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD National MS Society Supports Stem Cell Transplant for Select, Aggressive RRMS The National Multiple Sclerosis Society supports the use of a patient-derived bone marrow transplant to treat people with very aggressive relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who responded poorly to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). This position is in line with a recent set of society recommendationsĀ on how and in…
October 19, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ECTRIMS2021 ā CD20-positive T-cells May Be Early Drivers of MS Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the virtual 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Oct. 13ā15. GoĀ here to see the latest stories from the conference. Certain types of…
October 14, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ECTRIMS2021 ā Brain Lesions Help Predict Long-term Disability Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the virtual 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Oct. 13ā15. GoĀ here to see the latest stories from the…
October 12, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Medsenic Being Granted US Patent for Arscimed for RRMS The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will grant Medsenic a patent covering the use of Arscimed, its investigational formulation of arsenic trioxide, for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS). Once issued, the patent will protect Arscimed’s use for this indication until 2037. This will add to the already…
September 23, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Tecfidera May Reduce Relapse Rate More Than Other RRMS Therapies First-line treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) leads to a lower rate of relapses in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) than does treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) or injectable immunomodulators, according to an analysis of insurance data from France. “These data will be useful to feed into physician…
September 21, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Anti-CD20 Therapies Show Similar Safety, Efficacy in RRMS Anti-CD20 antibody therapies that target B-cells are highly effective for reducing the risk of relapses in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new analysis confirms. The analysis did not find any significant differences in efficacy or safety among the anti-CD20 therapies currently approved to treat RRMS, though…
September 20, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Vumerity Recommended for EU Approval as RRMS Treatment A committee of the European Medicines Agency is recommending that Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) be approved as an oral treatment for adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) in the European Union. The opinion, from the agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), will now be sent…
September 1, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Early High-efficacy DMTs Linked to Better RRMS Outcomes in Sweden People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in Sweden have lower rates of worsening disability than those who live in Denmark, likely due to differences in treatment strategies in each country, according to a new study. “This study shows that, for the first time to our knowledge, differences in national…
July 27, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Gray Matter in Hippocampus Can Help Distinguish Between Two MS Types Subtle changes in structure in the hippocampus ā a region of the brain involved in processing memories ā can differentiate between relapsing-remitting and primary progressive multiple sclerosis, according to a new study. The study, “Unraveling the MRI-Based Microstructural Signatures Behind Primary Progressive and RelapsingāRemitting Multiple Sclerosis Phenotypes,”…
July 26, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Gilenya Started Earlier in RRMS Disease Course in Recent Years People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have switched to treatment with Gilenya (fingolimod) at an earlier stage in their disease in recent years, compared to individuals who switched to the treatment around the time it became available, a new study indicates. The findings suggest “an increased experience in…
July 21, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MS-related Fatigue Identified as Main Factor Affecting Work Ability Fatigue, whether alone or in combination with depression or anxiety, is the main influencing factor of self-reported working ability among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and mild disability, according to a study in the Netherlands. Notably, contrary to the researchersā expectations, personality traits were found to have…
July 15, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Actively ‘Coping’ With Daily Stress of MS Tied to Better Life Quality Actively taking steps to cope with the chronic stress of multiple sclerosis (MS) ā from keeping a sense of humor to seeking emotional and tangibleĀ support ā can help to improve patients’ quality of life, a small questionnaire-based study from Poland suggests. The study, āThe Role of…
July 2, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Trials of IMU-838 in RRMS, Progressive MS Start Later This Year The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Immunic Therapeutics to initiate two clinical trials of its investigational medicationĀ IMU-838 (vidofludimus calcium) in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), as well as a separate trial for people with progressive types of MS. The RRMS clinical trial program, expected…
June 30, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Ublituximab Quite ‘Reassuring’ as Potential MS Therapy, Experts Say In clinical trials, the investigational anti-CD20 therapy ublituximab was the first to push the annualized relapse rate (ARR) below the 0.1 threshold among patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), while improving disability outcomes in a significant proportion of patients. “The [relapse] rate was below a tenth…
June 21, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Results: Ponvory Outperforms Aubagio in OPTIMUM Clinical Trial In the OPTIMUM clinical trial,Ā Ponvory (ponesimod) significantly outperformed Aubagio (teriflunomide) in reducing relapse rates, fatigue, and evidence of brain damage among people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Based on these results, Ponvory has now been approved in the U.S. and the European Union as a treatment…
June 15, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Home-based Exercise Viable Alternative for RRMS Patients A home-based rehabilitation program can help ease fatigue, improve motor and cognitive function, and promote better quality of life in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a small clinical trial has found. While a structured supervised exercise program was better at improving fatigue and health-related quality of life, the…
May 17, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Mavenclad’s Ability to Lower RRMS Relapse Rates May Last Years, Study Says Treatment with Mavenclad (clabridine) reduces the frequency of relapses in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), with benefits appearing to be evident two years after patients stopped taking the treatment, new data suggest. These findings wereĀ in the study, “Analysis of frequency and severity of relapses…
February 18, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS EVOLUTION Trials Testing Evobrutinib Now Recruiting Two global Phase 3 clinical trials testing the investigational oral medication evobrutinib are recruiting participants with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The two identically-designed trials āĀ EVOLUTION RMS 1 (NCT04338022) and EVOLUTION RMS 2 (…
February 9, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Zeposia Tablets Approved in Scotland to Treat Active RRMS The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approvedĀ Zeposia (ozanimod)Ā for the treatment of active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Zeposia is sold as a tablet, to be taken by mouth once daily. The SMC has recommended that Zeposia be prescribed for people with RRMS who experience relapses or have evidence of…
January 29, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Tecfidera Safe and Effective Over Long Term in Children With RRMS, Trial Shows Long-term treatment with TecfideraĀ (dimethyl fumarate)Ā safely and effectively reduces the frequency of relapses in children with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to 2.5 years of data from the FOCUS Phase 2 trial and its extension study. These findings are consistent with those previously reported for adult patients, supporting…
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…
January 21, 2021 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS New Study Will Assess Tysabri Effects on MS Cognitive Fatigue Researchers from the Kessler Foundation will launch a new study investigating the effects of Tysabri (natalizumab) on cognitive fatigue ā the type of fatigue that happens after strong mental concentration, such as in problem-solving ā in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Cognitive fatigue, which is very…
January 12, 2021 News by Diana Campelo Delgado Lemtrada May Slow MS Disease Progression, Long-term Study Suggests LemtradaĀ (alemtuzumab) may slow the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) and lower the conversion rate of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) to secondary progressive MS (SPMS), a long-term study suggests. The results showed that patients converting to SPMS ā in which a personās disability gets steadily worse ā were older,…
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…
December 22, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Plegridy as Intramuscular Injection for RRMS Approved in Europe The European Commission (EC) has approved a new, intramuscular formulation of Plegridy (peginterferon beta-1a) to treat people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). This new mode of administration ā in which Plegridy is directly injected into the muscle, rather than under the skin (subcutaneously) ā does…
December 11, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Inflammatory Environment in MS Impairs Myelin Debris-clearing by Immune Cells The pro-inflammatory environment characteristic ofĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) reduces the levels of PPAR-gamma ā a receptor protein whose activation dampens inflammation ā and impairs myelin processing in immune cells that clear myelin debris, a study suggests. These findings may help to better understand how PPAR-gamma regulates the function of these…
December 10, 2020 News by Diana Campelo Delgado Stem Cell Transplant Reduces Relapses and Disability in RRMS, Study Suggests Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (AHSCT) induces a reduction in relapse rate and physical disability in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who respond inadequately to other treatments, a small study suggests. The study, āSelective cognitive dysfunction and physical disability improvement after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation…
November 11, 2020 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS Air Pollution, Once Inhaled, Seen to Trigger Inflammation in RRMS Patients Exposure to air pollution, particularly toĀ particulate matter 10Ā (PM10), small airborne and inhalable particles, may trigger inflammatory reactions in people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS), an Italian study reported. The study “Air pollution as a contributor to the inflammatory activity of multiple sclerosis” was published in the Journal of…
November 11, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Additional Group of RRMS Patients Sought to Take Lower Dose of IMU-838 in Phase 2 Trial Immunic Therapeutics is seeking 60 more adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS) to test a lower dose of IMU-838, its leading oral experimental therapy, in its ongoing Phase 2 EMPhASIS trial. The decision was based on previous trial results showing that both doses tested (30 and 45 mg…