treatment

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…

A clinical trial that was testing if treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) could be discontinued in people with stable disease was terminated early after several patients who stopped treatment saw new disease activity. The findings support the continued use of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) even by those who haven’t…

A personalized dosing schedule for Tysabri (natalizumab) that aims to maintain blood levels of the drug above a certain threshold seems to be just as effective for controlling disease activity in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) as the approved every-four-week dosing schedule. That’s according to interim data from an…

People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who had an early start on high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) experience slower disability progression compared with those on escalation treatment, according to recent research. The study, which followed patients for up to 10 years, supports starting high-risk RRMS patients on highly effective…

Five of six people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) treated with an experimental oral therapy called OCH saw no disease activity over six months in a small clinical trial. That’s compared with 0% of the SPMS patients given a placebo, according to new data presented by Tomoko Okamoto,…

A new under-the-skin formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) — administered in 10 minutes — is at least as effective as the approved intravenous, or into-the-vein, formulation among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new clinical trial data. Most people given either the new subcutaneous formulation or the intravenous…

Six months of treatment with the experimental oral therapy vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) led to significant reductions in a marker of nerve damage among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a new analysis of data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. Previous data indicated the therapy significantly reduced…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who switch between more than two disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) have a higher risk of relapses compared with those who never switch, regardless of how well these patients adhere to their prescribed medications, according to real-world study in Canada. These findings are consistent with…

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: ‘Silent’ MS progression Readers of the MS News Today website and Facebook page sometimes wonder why their MS…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who experience a greater number of more severe flare-ups, also known as relapses, are more likely to take their medications regularly, but less likely to keep taking them over time, a review study has found. Other factors associated with better treatment adherence and persistence…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United Kingdom are less likely to be on disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) compared with MS patients in other countries in Europe, a new study reports. “We know that getting early treatment with disease-modifying MS therapies can improve long term health and wellbeing.

Heligenics has discovered a number of variations in the interferon beta 1 (IFNB1) gene that may markedly improve the effectiveness of medications containing the interferon beta protein — a protein widely used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The discovery was made using the biotechnology company’s…

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: Stem cell transplant found to be safe, effective in recent study Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) has been…

Nearly three-quarters of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) showed no signs of disease activity five years after receiving a stem cell transplant, according to a recent Swedish study. Moreover, about half of patients with at least minimal disability saw improvements after the transplant and about one-third remained stable.

The European Commission has approved Tyruko (natalizumab), the first biosimilar of Tysabri, for the treatment of adults with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The approval makes Tyruko available in the European Union for the same indication as its reference medicine. It also marks the first approval…

Over more than a decade of treatment with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), relapse rates were low and about half of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) remained free of confirmed disability worsening, according to final results from the open-label TOPAZ clinical trial. “To our knowledge, this report represents the longest…

The rate of brain atrophy, or volume loss, may help in determining whether disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are slowing disability progression in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a review of data from 12 published studies found. The analysis, “Brain Atrophy as an Outcome of Disease-Modifying Therapy for…

For older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have highly active disease, most neurologists recommend starting treatment with a high-efficacy therapy, according to a survey study. Neurologists also generally agreed that patients with MS should continue on treatment into the latter decades of life, and that older MS patients…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) under treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) commonly experience fluctuations in the severity of their symptoms — but these changes aren’t related to the timing of Ocrevus infusions, a study reports. Although many patients on Ocrevus report a ‘wearing off’ effect between infusions, findings suggest…

FSD Pharma’s Lucid-21-302 — an oral treatment candidate known as Lucid-MS, for all types of multiple sclerosis (MS) — was found safe and well tolerated across multiple doses in healthy volunteers, according to interim data from a Phase 1 clinical trial. The newly released data are from 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: An ‘inverse vaccine’ trial to treat MS What’s an “inverse vaccine,” you might ask? While traditional vaccines rev up…

Researchers have identified nearly two dozen genes that help to control the movement of immune cells into the brain and spinal cord during multiple sclerosis (MS). Findings may form the basis for the further development of MS treatments that aim to reduce disease activity by blocking the infiltration…

A question that’s been bothering me lately is this: It seems that more than a few neurologists have a less than optimal understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS). Why is that?  In my four decades of living with MS, and during the several years I’ve written this column…

Lapix Therapeutics is launching a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate LPX-TI641, its investigational treatment for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), in healthy individuals. The first-in-human trial (NCT05853835) is expected to begin dosing later this year. It follows the recent clearance of an investigational new…

Swoop, a consumer health data company, is launching a first of its kind algorithm that’s designed to predict treatment adherence in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) or other conditions. The aim of the new algorithm — which is based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) strategies…

Anokion has finished enrolling patients in the second part of its Phase 1 clinical trial investigating ANK-700 for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Safety data so far from the MoveS-it trial (NCT04602390) has shown the treatment is safe and well tolerated and biomarker analyses suggest it can induce…

Imcyse has completed patient enrollment and initial dosing in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating IMCY-0141, its next-generation immunotherapy, in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The study, the first portion of a Phase 1/2 trial called IMCY-MS-001 (NCT05417269), is an open-label trial evaluating three doses of IMCY-0141…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the U.S. who have access to a Shields Health Solutions care model pay an average $10 out of pocket each month for their MS treatments, according to the company — which noted that this amount is considerably less than the national average…

Tysabri (natalizumab) significantly reduced the development of brain lesions on MRI scans in Japanese people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a new study. The therapy also eased or stabilized disability levels in most patients after five years of treatment, and significantly reduced the annual rate of…

A new statistical method could help to more accurately capture changes in disability severity for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and monitor the impact of MS treatments. “With the use of this new statistical methodology, it is possible to estimate the time to improvement as well as the…