treatment

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany recently announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) of the company’s investigational product Cladribine Tablets as a therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in Europe. Cladribine is a synthetic antineoplastic agent able to suppress the immune system, causing relatively few…

A research project that aims to explore how astrocytes can be manipulated to stop or prevent neurodegeneration has received a grant from the National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF). The project will be conducted by the The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute. The work developed by Dr. Valentina…

Do you have any strong feelings about worms? No, not earthworms you find in the garden, or even roundworms or tapeworms that can sometimes be found in animals and humans. What I am talking about is purposely being infected with parasitic worms. OK, it may not be as gross as…

MediciNova recently reported that half of the 255 patients enrolled in a Phase 2b clinical trial (SPRINT-MS) exploring MN-166 (ibudilast) in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) had completed the 96-week-long treatment. Interim data will be analyzed by the trial’s external Data Safety Monitoring Board later this year, with results…

MediciNova recently reported that half of the 255 patients enrolled in a Phase 2b clinical trial (SPRINT-MS) exploring MN-166 (ibudilast) in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) had completed the 96-week-long treatment. Interim data will be analyzed by the trial’s external Data Safety Monitoring Board later this year, with results…

Quite a mixed bag in the pick of the week’s news: A drug in development, microbiota in the gut, statins and MS, DMTs and cognitive skills, and images of depression. Endece Granted New U.S. Patent for NDC-1308, Therapy to Induce Remyelination in MS This is a bit of an…

The Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), the nonprofit organization that released a preliminary draft last week intended to shape the Institute’s forthcoming report on the effectiveness and benefits of therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), is made up of experts in healthcare policy from across the U.S. who, through the…

Individual health insurance coverage largely determines a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient’s access to disease modifying drugs in the United States, mainly because of the rising costs of newer medications and near-annual changes in insurance policy coverage, usually making such coverage more restrictive, researchers report.  These twin problems often leave MS patients relying on suboptimal therapies rather than those…

Endece was recently issued an additional U.S. patent for its lead investigational product, NDC-1308, being developed to induce remyelination in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and prevent disease progression. Currently in late preclinical development, NDC-1308 is designed to repair the myelin sheath of demyelinated axons (nerve fibers), a major cause…

A pilot study in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) found a steroid treatment of benefit by decreasing oxidative stress in the cerebrospinal fluid. The study, “One-time intrathecal triamcinolone acetonide application alters the redox potential in cerebrospinal fluid of progressive multiple sclerosis patients: a pilot study,” was published in the journal …

Despite the existence of several disease-modifying drugs for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), patients’ satisfaction plays a critical role in their adherence to treatment. Improving adherence should be a major concern in the clinic to prevent patients from evolving to more debilitating stages of the disease. A team of researchers in Germany report that side…

Disease-modifying therapies, a group of treatments for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), work to stabilize patients’ cognitive functions just as they do their physical symptoms. Research, conducted over the course of a year, also reported no differences between two types of DMTs, Gilenya (fingolimod) and Tysabri (natalizumab). The study, “…

When I see a new drug for MS come to market, I only think of the company behind that product – it could be one of the big names such as Genentech, Genzyme, EMD Serono, Biogen, or one of the many other players in the field.  I never stopped to…

Fecal samples from a group of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) showed evidence of a different gut microbiota than that found in healthy controls, and may be a non-genetic reason for the altered immune system responses seen in MS patients. The study, “Multiple sclerosis patients have…

There have been plenty of interesting stories on Multiple Sclerosis News Today over the last seven days. Here is my Pick of the Week’s news. Tremors Linked to MS Poorly Treated with Symptomatic Medication, Study Finds It will come as no surprise to those of us with MS that disabling tremors,…

One of the world’s most commonly used medications — the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin — was found to affect the immune system in a way that can be explored to treat inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers have earlier noted that simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, is beneficial for MS…

You have just one week from today to have your say about the effectiveness of various disease modifying therapies (DMT) used to treat relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Public comments are welcome in response to an early draft paper that is planned to be the basis for…

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…

Biogen and AbbVie announced that the drug Zinbryta (daclizumab) has received marketing authorization by the European Commission, and is an approved treatment across most of Europe for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Zinbryta is a self-administered, once monthly subcutaneous injection. “Clinical data showed Zinbryta significantly reduced relapses, 24-week…

A recent study analyzing the healthcare resource use and cost of H.P. Acthar Gel, an injectable drug used to manage multiple sclerosis (MS) relapse, demonstrated that the therapy is a viable alternative to plasmapheresis (PMP) and intravenous immunoglobin (IVIG). Annual direct healthcare costs encountered by MS patients in the U.S.

The Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) released the early draft of a paper intended to inform a future report evaluating the effectiveness and value of disease-modifying therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The paper, called a draft scoping document, is titled “Disease Modifying Therapies for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Effectiveness and…

Disabling tremors can affect as many as half of all people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but they are inadequately treated because of limited therapeutic options and are not sufficiently being studied, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported. Their report, “Symptomatic Management of Multiple Sclerosis-Associated Tremor Among…

Developments of treatments for MS dominate my pick of the week’s news in MS News Today. Included is a vaccine and a new oral drug. Vaccine to Treat Multiple Sclerosis Showing Promise and Soon to Enter Phase 3 Clinical Testing This is something a bit different because, usually vaccines are designed to…

Since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013, Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) has emerged as a first-line treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of multiple sclerosis (MS). While two separate clinical trials demonstrated Tecfidera’s ability to significantly reduce both the rate of relapse…

As Multiple Sclerosis News Today reported in mid-July, Endece Neural was issued an additional U.S. patent for its lead investigational product, NDC-1308. The drug is under development to repair the myelin sheath damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), a major causing disease progression and increasing disability. The sheath, an…

As interesting as it can be for patients with MS who hear about work being done to find the causes of multiple sclerosis, what we really want to see is research that is carried out to find a cure. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, the development of new treatments…

Researchers working with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are often faced with a problem: an average MRI brain scan produces a considerable amount of images (around 600 megabytes), but half carry distortions that make them unreadable. These “phase images,” as they are known, are usually discarded and their insights lost. Now, the work of researchers…

Coherus BioSciences recently reported that its candidate therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), CHS-131, reduced the development rate of new brain lesions by nearly 50% in previously untreated relapsing-remitting MS patients. The Phase 2b trial (NCT02638038), randomizing patients to receive either CHS-131 or placebo in a double-blind manner, also showed the…

Ready to fight MS? Well, you can start first thing every day. So, how do you start your day — a coffee maybe, or a great cup of tea? Tea is my choice but I also enjoy a magnificent cup of Spanish coffee. According to a number of recent studies, coffee and…

A therapeutic vaccine for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), called Xemys, is showing positive results in pre-clinical and clinical trials, and is soon to enter Phase 3 clinical testing. Xemys was developed by researchers at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences and their colleagues. While traditional vaccines are…