side effects

Opinions voiced by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients as to what they most want from, and like in, an MS treatment differ widely, although delaying progression and relapses — and minimizing serious side effects — clearly score high, according to new research from the University of British Columbia in Canada. The study, “Quantitative…

Never having been offered, let alone received any disease modifying therapy, I can address the subject of disease modifying therapies, and their side effects, with complete impartiality. Of course, the reason for the lack of any medication is because none has yet been approved for use with MS patients who…

Results from the STRIVE study support the safety of natalizumab (Tysabri) as a therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The study, “Natalizumab in Anti-JC Virus Seronegative Patients with Early Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Interim Results from the STRIVE Study,” was recently presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis…

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this blog post are not the opinions of Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Our MS Blog series offers patient experts to engage in patient-focused topics that are meant to spark discussion and debate in the Multiple Sclerosis community. The opinions of our bloggers are entirely…

A case report of a woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), who developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) after natalizumab therapy, found that the immune-boosting molecule interleukin-2 (IL-2) might be a viable therapeutic option to fight this life-threatening complication although further study is needed. The case report, “Use of interleukin-2 for…

Mitoxantrone,  a multiple sclerosis (MS)  drug that is already associated with a higher risk for leukemia and heart damage, may also raise a person’s risk of colorectal cancer, researchers at the University of Würzburg, in Germany, reported. If confirmed in larger studies, the findings indicate that colonoscopies should be conducted on MS patients after…

A case report of a woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who developed shingles while being treated with dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera) has raised questions of whether the drug reactivates the varicella-zoster virus. The study, “Disseminated zoster with paresis in a multiple sclerosis patient treated with dimethyl fumarate,“ was published in…

A large-scale online survey, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society  and developed by researchers, is investigating how multiple sclerosis (MS) patients perceive and evaluate the risks and benefits of available therapies. Investigators encourage MS patients to participate in the survey, titled “Multiple Sclerosis Risk Tolerance,” which can be…

The European Medicines Agency Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), responsible for assessing and monitoring safety issues for human medicines, completed a review on the risk for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with the medicine Tysabri (natalizumab). The issued guidelines have the objective of minimizing patients’ risk.

TNF-α blocking drugs, such as infliximab, surprised investigators when their use in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) actually triggered demyelination. In a case report published in the journal Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers reviewed an aggressive demyelinating event in a non-MS patient treated with TNF-α blockers. TNF-α blockers…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with natalizumab have an increased risk of developing high levels of antibodies associated with a virus causing a rare, but often fatal, brain infection known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), researchers reported. Their study, “Therapy with natalizumab is associated with high JCV seroconversion and rising JCV index values,”…

A panel of neurologists from the U.K. and Ireland recently developed practical consensus guidelines for monitoring multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on natalizumab (Tysabri) therapy for the risk of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a life-threatening viral infection caused by the John Cunningham (JC) virus. The panel was summoned by…

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech have discontinued the use of higher doses of the drug laquinimod in two ongoing multiple sclerosis (MS) studies. The decision was based on a recommendation by the Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) that is supervising the clinical trials after cardiovascular events, none of which were fatal,…

A research team from the University of Alberta, Canada, is exploring a new therapeutic way of reducing brain inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with fewer side effects. The study, titled “Granzyme B-inhibitor serpina3n induces neuroprotection in vitro and in vivo,” appeared in the Journal of Neuroinflammation. Most available…

Ocrelizumab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, targets mature B-cells. Almost 95% of the B-cell population has these antigenic epitopes after maturation and does not shed them, which is what makes it a potent marker for therapeutic purposes (cancer being a very common area of interest in this regard). Read more…

A new study recently published in the journal Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation revealed that the drug Cladribine does not increase the risk of cancer in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) as previously thought. The study was led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)…

On September 16, 2015, Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced that ocrelizumab, a drug originally designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis that saw its development stopped due to an association with infections, could potentially treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) as well as primary progressive MS (PPMS) with minimal sides effects compared…

Multiple sclerosis patients prescribed Gilenya (fingolimod) are now being informed about a handful of documented cases where the therapy was found to have led to a rare brain infection, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has released a public warning indicating that cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) have been…

Skin problems may be caused by interferon-β, a common treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study published by a German research group at the Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie, Venerologie und Allergologie, in Würzburg, Germany. The work, entitled “Cutaneous Adverse Events Associated with Interferon-β…

One of the most widely disputed treatments for multiple sclerosis is low dose naltrexone (LDN). While a plethora of patient testimonies and anecdotal evidence suggest immense benefits of LDN for multiple sclerosis, many clinicians are wary due to the lack of FDA approval outside of treating heroin and alcohol addiction.

The US Food and Drug Administration has just issued a report warning the general public and healthcare providers dealing with multiple sclerosis that one of the leading medications for the disease, Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), has been identified a possible factor in the death of an MS patient,…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who are prescribed Tysabri have an increased risk to develop the rare, often fatal infection of the brain called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), according to a recent study. PML is caused by a common virus that infects blood cells and can be mobilized by popular RRMS drug Natalizumab,…

A team of researchers from the University of Saint Louis has found a molecular pathway involved in a painful chemotherapy side effects, and a drug that might be able to stop it. Paclitaxel (also known as Taxol) is a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat different forms of cancer…

The risk of developing lipoatrophy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients administrated with glatiramer acetate is greater than 60 percent, according to a study developed at the Riverside Medical Clinic that reviewed 73 MS patients. It was already known that the drug could cause the condition, however the rate is higher…