treatment

Treatment with ibudilast — an anti-inflammatory being developed to treat people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) — significantly preserved tissue integrity in a brain region called the thalamus in patients in a clinical trial, according to new analyses from SPRINT-MS. While the therapy appeared to exert these…

A new imaging technique was able to detect inflammation in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) before disease symptoms appeared, and to monitor the animals’ responses to treatment, a study reports. “With this new non-invasive imaging approach, we can detect toxic inflammation that could help us better understand…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to review Viatris and Mapi Pharma‘s application seeking approval of GA Depot for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The medication is a long-acting formulation of glatiramer acetate, the active ingredient in the approved…

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: Neurologists comment on DMTs available for RRMS There are 20 disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) available to treat MS in the…

Treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine), an approved short-course oral therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), significantly reduced patients’ relapse rates and the development of new lesions while keeping disability stable over two years, according to a real-world study in Kuwait. Among patients who completed the two courses…

A significantly higher immune response against proteins found in cow milk is evident in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), likely because of similarities between milk proteins and proteins in the human central nervous system (CNS, the brain and spinal cord), a study reported. No such differences were seen between…

Neurologists in the U.S. are largely satisfied with current treatment options for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), but opportunities remain for therapies in development, according to a new report by Spherix Global Insights. In the report series, called RealTime Dynamix: Multiple Sclerosis (U.S.), an ongoing survey of healthcare…

The specialty pharmaceutical company Neuraxpharm will be responsible for marketing the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Briumvi (ublituximab) in regions outside the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and certain Asian countries as part of a new collaboration with TG Therapeutics worth $140 million in upfront payments alone. Neuraxpharm is…

A generic equivalent of oral Gilenya (fingolimod) significantly lowers relapse rates, slows disability progression, and works against new lesions developing in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a real-world study in Turkey. Feedback from patients also was favorable, with most being satisfied with the generic treatment…

Treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) provides a similar long-term benefit for Black and Hispanic people with multiple sclerosis (MS) as is found in other racial and ethnic populations, according to five years of data from the real-world ESTEEM study. The study — which assessed the long-term safety and…

NX210c, an investigational therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases from Axoltis Pharma, will have its clinical development boosted as part of a collaboration with InSilicoTrials. The companies will use InSilicoTrials’ simulation platform to replicate the brain and spinal cord characteristics of people with neurological disorders…

Pro-inflammatory immune cells that can target the brain may be activated in a specific region of the intestine by certain gut bacteria before migrating to the brain, according to a new study done in mice. Researchers say these findings provide a proof of concept for how some immune cells may…

Octave Bioscience has raised $30 million in financing to help accelerate commercialization efforts for its precision care program for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). “We have made significant progress in deploying our solution for multiple sclerosis patients,” William Hagstrom, founder and CEO of Octave, said in a…

For the first time, multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies have been added to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML), which names those regarded as meeting the most important needs of healthcare systems worldwide. Glatiramer acetate (sold as Copaxone with generics available), Mavenclad (cladribine)…

Dawn Health, a Danish digital health company, has developed a smartphone app to support and empower people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) as they navigate their chronic disease care. Launched this week in Germany, the free Ekiva-MS app is designed to help patients better track their symptoms…

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), an arm of the European Medicines Agency, has recommended that PB006, a biosimilar version of Tysabri (natalizumab), be approved to treat adults with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The recommendation comes about a year after the regulatory agency…

In multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammation leads to less energy production in nerve fibers by reducing the levels of enzymes in a key molecular pathway, called the TCA cycle, that cells use to generate energy, a new study shows. These findings imply that boosting activity of the TCA cycle might…

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: Are DMTs useful and safe for older MS patients? The MS News Today story “Can elderly MS patients…

As last week’s column ended, I’d just negotiated with my ambulance driver and paramedics to take me to any London hospital other than the one where I’d spent the Christmas months. They offered me St George’s Hospital, which I knew to be the major trauma center ’round these…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with several disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Times, they’ve been a-changing for disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). When I was diagnosed with multiple…

Experiencing disability in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), even without relapses, increases the risk of progression to secondary progressive MS (SPMS), a more severe form of the disease, a large study finds. Starting a disease-modifying therapy early on in the disease may decrease the SPMS…

Synaptogenix is teaming up with Cleveland Clinic for a Phase 1 clinical trial involving people with multiple sclerosis (MS) that will test the company’s lead candidate, bryostatin-1 — a therapy designed to prevent cognitive deficits in MS patients. “We are moving forward with our clinical development plans for…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who take their prescribed disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as recommended have better long-term health outcomes and lower healthcare costs than those who don’t, a U.S. study finds. Adhering to treatment can help reduce relapses, slow disease progression, and reduce the economic burden on both…

A first-of-its-kind study is aiming to determine whether older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) can safely stop taking disease-modifying therapies, also known as disease-modifying agents (DMAs). The project is being led by scientists at the new P-HOPER Center, officially the Population Health Outcomes and Pharmacoepidemiology Education and Research…

Editor’s note: “MS News Notes” will return to its regular Monday morning schedule next week. 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: A 10-minute injection of…

With a planned merger in the works, Frequency Therapeutics is no longer advancing its remyelination therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), and instead is exploring “strategic alternatives for the program,” the company has announced. The regenerative medicine company, which had aimed to develop a new approach to treating MS…

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with elevated levels of chloride in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that bathes the central nervous system, may be at a higher risk of relapse, according to a study from China. Researchers propose that CSF chloride levels equal to or higher than 123.2…

Since their launch in the 2010s, the use of oral disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) has increased substantially, while injectable DMTs have become less popular, according to a study based on U.S. commercial health insurance data. “While two injectable therapies known as platform injectables, were once the…

There was no column from me last week, and here follows the reason why: “In the wee small hours,” as Frank Sinatra so eloquently crooned, I, too, was abruptly awake. Only I hadn’t drunk my way there. Instead, my wee was indeed a real one, though painfully…

A new formulation of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), given as a 10-minute under-the-skin injection, was comparable to the approved intravenous version of the therapy in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to top-line results from a Phase 3 clinical trial. The medication’s developer, Roche, is planning to submit data from…