treatment

The molecular process that brings vitamin B12 into the brain can also transport Gilenya (fingolimod), an approved treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. The finding “supports creating brain-targeted B12 formulations” for MS, said Jerold Chun, MD, PhD, co-author of the study at Sanford Burnham…

A novel compound that can lessen toxic overactivation of nerve cells was found to significantly reduce disease activity and restore lost myelin in two mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. Researchers say the compound, ZCAN262, may be a potential new treatment for MS should future…

Vanda Pharmaceuticals has acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to Ponvory (ponesimod), an oral therapy approved for relapsing types of MS, in a new deal with Actelion Pharmaceuticals. Under the terms of the agreement, Vanda paid $100 million to Actelion (now part of Janssen), the therapy’s original developer. While…

The European Union (EU) is providing 7.1 million euros (about $7.6 million) over five years to a global interdisciplinary consortium that seeks to identify the causes of multiple sclerosis (MS) — with a particular focus on viruses — and find new treatments for the disease. The “BEHIND MS”…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a partial hold on Genentech’s ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials testing fenebrutinib for the treatment of relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The decision was based on two cases of patients who experienced elevations in their…

Treatment with essential oils derived from green tea or pumpkin reduced brain damage in a rat model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study reports. The oils also helped to restore the abnormal levels of neurotransmitters — chemical messengers that nerve cells use to communicate — and reduce markers…

A novel therapy in which neural stem cells are injected into the brain was well tolerated by 15 people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) in a pilot clinical trial. Participants’ disability levels and cognition, as well as markers of inflammation and nerve damage, all remained stable for up…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who discontinue a disease-modifying treatment are more likely to have greater long-term disability than patients who continue with such therapies or go untreated, a registry database study reports. Findings also suggest that patients who self-report better mobility early in their disease course also…

About three-quarters of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients given an under-the-skin formulation of cladribine had no disease activity or didn’t receive any additional therapies 4.5 years after starting treatment, a study shows. Cladribine is the active ingredient in the oral therapy Mavenclad and is typically given in two short treatment…

Certain clinical attributes of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), such as safety and the medication’s impact on risk of relapse and disability progression, are considered important by healthcare providers in selecting the appropriate treatment for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new survey study. However, a study experiment also…

The Patent and Trademark Office intends to grant a U.S. patent covering all dosing regimens of vidofludimus calcium — being developed as IMU-838 — for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). That includes the doses being used in developer Immunic Therapeutics’ ongoing clinical program, according to a…

InSilicoTrials (IST) has received this year’s Innovation Radar Prize for its efforts to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to advance clinical trials and predictive technologies that may benefit people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases. Launched in 2015 by the European Commission, the award recognizes European Union (EU)-funded…

A noninvasive brain stimulation technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can significantly improve walking abilities in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a pooled analysis of published studies. The technique was effective when applied to the main brain region called the primary motor cortex, which is involved…

The Swank and Wahls diets — two dietary strategies often adopted by people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — were similarly effective at easing functional disability after six months among people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), according to data from a small clinical trial. These functional gains were mostly driven…

A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating LPX-TI641, Lapix Therapeutics‘ experimental therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases, has dosed its first participants. The first-in-human trial (NCT05853835) of healthy adult volunteers follows the recent clearance of an investigational new drug application by the U.S. Food…

A high level of adherence to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is associated with a significant, 25% lower risk of moderate or severe relapses in previously untreated people with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with those failing to adhere to therapy, according to a study of real-world data in Italy. High…

Blocking the activity of a protein complex called the NLRP3 inflammasome lessened disease severity in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. Results point to NLRP3 as a promising target to ease inflammation in people with MS, but additional studies will be needed to determine the…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Lemtrada or stem cell transplant? While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved stem cell transplants…

Immunic Therapeutics has been notified of the intent to grant a U.S. patent covering the use vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) in treating relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) at a daily dose of about 10 to 45 mg. That range covers the two IMU-838 doses shown to be…

Advanced Innovative Partners (AIP) has agreed to assist GlobeStar Therapeutics Corporation and SMI Healthcare in designing and running clinical trials to evaluate Project Amethyst, a patented triple combination of U.S.-approved medications aiming to prevent neurodegeneration due to multiple sclerosis (MS). This definitive agreement follows a…

A stem cell transplant was found to be better than Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for lowering disease activity and slowing disability worsening in people with highly active relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a small study in Lithuania showed. While both treatments were similarly effective in the first couple of…

Targeting genes that control the daily activity cycle of cells that are responsible for repairing myelin in the brain and spinal cord may be a useful strategy for treating multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study shows. Findings also point to a potential link between myelin disorders such as MS…

Achieving NEDA — no evidence of disease activity — after two years of treatment was not common among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) at a center in Italy. NEDA more often was reached, however, when researchers didn’t include the first few months of treatment in their analysis, suggesting…

A scoring system that accounts for relapses and MRI activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients during their first year on an oral disease-modifying therapy (DMT) was found to be predictive of worse short-term outcomes for people with relapsing forms of the neurodegenerative disorder, a study showed. “The occurrence of…

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. This week, the stories cover research presented at the joint meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and the…

Nabiximols, the cannabis-based oral spray sold as Sativex, is available for reimbursement as an add-on therapy for moderate to severe spasticity in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Ireland who failed to respond as intended to other spasticity medications. Marked by muscle stiffness and involuntary spasms or twitches,…

Six months of treatment with foralumab, administered into the nose, led to decreases in microglial activity in five of six people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) involved in an expanded access program. Microglia are resident immune cells in the brain believed to play a role in driving…

Use of high-efficacy therapies can lower the risk of disability progression in people with childhood-onset multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly if given in early disease stages when disabling symptoms are negligible. That’s according to data shared at the 9th joint meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and…

Treatment with the investigational therapy fenebrutinib significantly reduced the number of new inflammatory lesions visible on MRI scans in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Pharmacological data from the study suggest the anti-inflammatory experimental medication can get into the brain and spinal cord at levels high…

Treatment with tolebrutinib for up to nearly three years was tied to low relapse rates, stable disability, and few new brain lesions among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from the long-term safety (LTS) extension of a Phase 2b trial. The data…