treatment

Data recently presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting showed that Roche/Genentech’s investigational drug ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) lowered the risk of disability progression in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a condition for which no approved treatments exist. The study was presented during the “…

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, was founded more than 35 years ago and has been focused on a variety of research fields, including cancer, immunology, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic diseases, and infectious diseases. Genentech has been committed to discovering and developing new medicines for patients with major diseases of the nervous…

Results from a Phase 2 clinical trial showed that five-year clinical outcomes of patients with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) are significantly improved when patients are treated with high-dose immunosuppressive therapy combined with autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation. The study, “Five-Year Outcomes of Halt-MS: High-
Dose Immunosuppressive Therapy and Autologous Hematopoietic Cell…

A study of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients who had one or more relapses on earlier treatment, showed that alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) improved disability progression over five years, even though most patients received treatment only during the first two years. The study showed that alemtuzumab is a viable option for long-term…

A study, recently presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting in National Harbor, Md., showed MS patients of African decent might better benefit from treatment with alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) compared to subcutaneous interferon beta-1a (Rebif) – with lower rates of relapses evident over five years…

Assessing and treating psychiatric disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may improve their quality of life and disease prognosis, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School, who presented their work titled “Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Multiple Sclerosis: Assessment and Management” at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC)…

The “Comprehensive Care in MS and Symptom Management” session at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting, included a different kind of contribution –  the presentation of a short film exposing the health challenges specific to Hispanic patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Intended to promote…

Stem cell treatment of MS, which came under the spotlight at last week’s 16th Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) when Dr. Mark Freedman discussed the procedure, is an exciting area within the development of therapies. Dr. Freedman, professor of medicine (neurology) at the…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients using an interactive, self-guided fatigue management resource, developed by researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada, reported lower fatigue and improved cognition after three months, showing that fatigue self-management tools can contribute to the treatment of this common MS symptom. The pilot study, “…

One of the highlights at the “Comprehensive Care in MS and Symptom Management” session of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting, was an attempt to address the exclusion of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) from the design and delivery of healthcare aimed at this…

Global pharma Bayer Healthcare aims to improve human health by diagnosing, preventing, and treating a variety of diseases. The company currently provides products for general medicine, hematology, neurology, oncology, and women’s healthcare. In 1993, Bayer’s Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) became the first disease-modifying drug to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for…

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that visual function in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients correlates with cognitive function ands suggests that disease severity and outcomes of neuroprotective therapies in MS patients may be assessed through visual function measurements. The findings were recently presented in the oral presentation “…

On June 2, a symposium titled “Cell-based therapies in MS” was presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC). One of the speakers was Dr. Mark S. Freedman, professor of medicine (neurology) at the University of Ottawa in Canada, who discussed the use of stem…

While most multiple sclerosis (MS) researchers focus on the autoimmune and inflammatory processes of the disease, researchers at the Mind Research Network (MRN) believe that improving axonal function might contribute to better MS outcomes. Using Ampyra (dalfampridine), they thoroughly analyzed the function of nerve axon connections between the two brain…

Treadmill walking exercise training is beneficial for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, increasing not only their cardiorespiratory fitness, but also their cognitive processing speed, according to the study “Systematically Developed Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Exercise and Cognition in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis,” recently presented at the Consortium of Multiple…

Robot-assisted training may be an effective therapy to improve motor function in the lower limbs of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and help in rehabilitation, according to the study “Robot-Guided Rehabilitation Improves Sensorimotor Functions in Lower-Limb Impairments of Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis,” presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers…

EMD Serono, the U.S. and Canadian subsidiary and biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, focuses exclusively on specialty care. With expertise in fertility, endocrinology, oncology and neurology, the company is featuring several innovative products with therapeutic potential in the oncology, immuno-oncology, and immunology fields. Rebif (interferon beta-1a), EMD Serono’s therapy for patients with relapsing…

A symposium focused on lifestyle factors and unconventional medicine as part of the clinical care provided to patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) took place today at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC). The symposium, “Expanding the MS Toolkit: Integrating Lifestyle Factors and Unconventional Medicine…

Biogen, announced that TYSABRI, a drug developed to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has received a positive opinion from the European Medicine Agency (EMA) recommending its approval to be used in people with elapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

There has been a great deal of talk and conjecture about the relationship between multiple sclerosis (MS) and vitamin D, often linked to living in an area lacking sunshine. Indeed, when I lived in the United Kingdom, which is notorious — or should be — for seemingly endless gray skies and…

Dr. Fred Lublin, a renowned multiple sclerosis (MS) expert at Mount Sinai Medical Center, helped launch the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual Meeting, June 1 – 4, in National Harbor, Md. with the John F. Kurtzke Memorial Lecture he titled “Do Relapses Really Matter?” “How relapses influence disease worsening,…

Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) ithree institute are taking a novel approach in an attempt to halt disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). The scientists are planning to explore the anti-inflammatory potential of a controlled infection by parasitic worms as a way of preventing the harmful over-inflammation observed in MS and…

Zinbryta (daclizumab) was approved May 27 for the treatment of adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared Biogen’s new long-acting injection as a patient self-administered monthly therapy. The director of Neurology Products at the U.S. FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation…

How would you feel about following a calorie-restricted diet, if it might reverse the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and help repair the damage caused by the disease? Scientists are so excited about the findings achieved so far that they are moving to large-scale human trials, and have already taken the unusual…

Data from an extension phase of a Phase 3 clinical trial, given in an oral presentation by MedDay, reported that the biotin  MD1003 showed effectiveness over time as a possible treatment of non-active, progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The data were presented at the recent 2nd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) in Denmark by Professor Ayman Tourbah,…

The Russian Ministry of Health recently granted Marketing Authorization (ЛП-003567) to R-Pharm JSC for the development of  “Glatirat” (Glatiramer acetate), a drug intended for the treatment of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and clinically isolated syndrome. According to a press release, the registration of “Glatirat” was based…

Mitochon Pharmaceuticals announced the completion of a second year of financing, raising a total $1.6 million to advance its lead compound, MP101, a mitochondrial targeted neuro-protective agent, into clinical testing. The company is developing mitochondrial modulators for patients with neurodegenerative diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to multiple sclerosis (MS). A number of studies have…

The University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine and Chiba University School of Medicine, Japan, are working together to establish a new center for immunology research, with a particular focus on the microbiome and mucosal immune responses that are known to play a crucial role in a variety of diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). “This…

Researchers at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, recently showed that peripheral blood cells loaded with a drug that resembles the myelin protein are able to inhibit harmful immune responses and prevent relapses in a mouse model of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings were described in the study “…

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…