treatment

Three months of once-weekly sessions of high-intensity resistance training — consisting of strength exercises followed by a short recovery between sets — effectively eased fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients experiencing low energy and tiredness, a trial in Sweden shows. This intervention also lessened feelings of depression and anxiety,…

Doctors typically prescribe medications to help manage symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), but a veteran nonprofit focuses on a little-known, much-overlooked part of treatment: therapeutic adventuring. First Descents was founded in 2001 to bring free outdoor activities to young adults with cancer. After a successful pilot study,…

A little over a year ago, I wrote about whether Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi’s) might be the next big thing in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments. BTKi’s are small molecules that selectively block an enzyme that’s important for the activation of B-cells in the immune system and…

An extended interval between maintenance doses of Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) may increase the risk of MRI-based disease activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a real-world, multicenter study in Italy. In fact, an extended interval dosing (by one month or longer) was associated with a fivefold higher risk…

People who underwent a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), many of them patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), were supportive of the treatment despite its high costs — and hesitancy and opposition from their neurologists — a survey study showed. Most surveyed HSCT recipients — about 85% — believed…

Treatment with medrysone, a glucocorticoid approved in the U.S. as a topical treatment for certain inflammatory eye diseases, improved repair of myelin in a mouse model of demyelination, a new study shows. The results suggest medrysone may be a useful treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), which is…

Long-term treatment with Ponvory (ponesimod) safely and effectively reduces the rate of relapses, slows disability worsening, and prevents brain volume decline in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). That’s according to eight years of data from patients enrolled in a now-completed Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT01006265) and its…

The protective barrier that prevents cells and large molecules from crossing into the central nervous system (CNS) is known to be unusually “leaky” in multiple sclerosis (MS), but targeting a protein called ARF6 can help to stabilize this barrier, a study in mouse models of MS found. Such a treatment…

Treatment with the experimental B-cell depleting therapy ublituximab significantly outperformed Aubagio (teriflunomide) at reducing relapse rates and the number of lesions in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to updated data from the Phase 3 ULTIMATE clinical trials. The two medications had comparable effects…

An experimental oral therapy called TRE-515 significantly reduced disease severity and the growth of the abnormal immune cells that drive multiple sclerosis (MS) in two mouse models of the disease, a study found. Notably, the efficacy of Trethera Corp.’s potential treatment, administered either in a preventive or therapeutic…

Biosimilar, or “follow-on,” forms of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that have been approved in a highly regulated area can be considered as safe and effective as their reference medications, according to multiple sclerosis (MS) experts. A biosimilar is a medication that’s highly similar to an existing biological medication in…

Aquatic exercise therapy can help to ease fatigue and improve balance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), without notable side effects, according to a review of published studies. These findings have important implications for MS patients, as fatigue is among the main symptoms of the disease and…

Baclofen, an approved therapy for spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, promoted the repair of myelin — the protective sheath around nerve fibers that’s progressively lost in MS — in a mouse model of the disease, a study showed. These findings suggest baclofen — sold as oral tablets,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Trethera Corporation’s experimental oral therapy TRE-515 for demyelinating optic neuritis, an eye condition that may progress to multiple sclerosis (MS) or occur during the disease course. The first-in-class therapy is expected to lessen the inflammation…

Researchers have discovered how interferon-beta, a common treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), may be effective for people with the disease. Specifically, they found that red blood cells from MS patients have an unusually high ability to bind molecules that contribute to disease-related impairments in neuronal health and myelin repair,…

CNM-Au8, Clene Nanomedicine’s experimental oral therapy, safely and effectively improves vision and neurological function in adults with stable relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and disease-related visual impairment. Those are the findings of the VISIONARY-MS Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT03536559), a proof-of-concept study that investigated CNM-Au8 in people with…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who responded to cognitive rehabilitation showed healthier connections between certain brain regions on functional MRI scans than did MS patients who did not respond to the rehab program, a new study reports. These results indicate that certain brain regions need to be working…

In its inaugural issue, a publication from The Gerontological Society of America provides information about recognizing and managing pseudobulbar affect — uncontrolled outbursts of crying or laughing that the authors say are one of the most “underrecognized and undertreated” symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions. The…

Anti-CD20 Therapies Help Mount T-cell Response to COVID-19 Vaccines Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been concerns that anti-CD20 therapies, such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), may interfere with the ability of a person with MS to fight a COVID-19 infection. But this report says that even if…

Are you ready to buy your healthcare services from the same place you can buy almost everything else under the sun? Amazon hopes you are. Last month, the giant of online sales announced plans to acquire One Medical, a company that operates more than 125 medical offices across…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are on therapies that deplete antibody-producing B-cells can mount an effective T-cell immune response to COVID-19 vaccination, a new study shows. The findings suggest that the vaccines strongly activate other parts of the immune system that are helpful in fighting the virus,…

Robotic-assisted gait training (RAGT) may be the most effective form of physical exercise for improving mobility among people with severe multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent review study. Other exercise types, such as conventional walking, treadmill training, and yoga, may also be feasible and effective, however, the researchers…

Pasithea Therapeutics investigational multiple sclerosis vaccine, PAS002, effectively delayed disease onset and reduced disease severity in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition, according to data from a preclinical study. The vaccine, which is designed to promote immune tolerance to a specific myelin protein, also reduced the severity…

In this installment of our “Expert Voices” series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked Tanuja Chitnis, MD, to answer some of your questions about pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS). Chitnis is a board-certified neurologist specializing in multiple sclerosis-related neuroimmunological disorders. Chitnis’s interest in children with MS led her to create…

After a relapse involving optic neuritis, or inflammation in the nerves connecting the eyes and brain, measurements of retinal thinning may predict the likelihood of full recovery from future relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The measurement could identify subclinical nerve cell damage that remains…

Transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS), a procedure sending an electric current through the skin to nerves in the legs, is generally safe and feasible in people with overactive bladder due to multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a proof-of-concept study. Though the study was not designed to test the efficacy…

Tysabri (natalizumab) outperforms other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in its ability to lessen a range of patient-reported symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a large real-world study. These symptoms include balance difficulties, sensory problems, feelings of anxiety, bladder problems, vision problems, and…

Stem Cell Transplant Found to Reduce MS Relapses, Ease Disability This is excellent news for those of us who would like to see stem cell transplant for MS become more available and affordable. These researchers analyzed 50 studies covering a total of 4,831 people with MS, ages 26 to…

My multiple sclerosis medications cost me a lot, even with good insurance. Yours probably do, too, if you don’t live in a country where the government picks up your drug costs. But now billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is taking a big bite out of the cost of some…

Switching from a standard monthly course of Tysabri (natalizumab) to an extended-interval dosing administered every six weeks does not seem to increase neuronal damage in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. While individual blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, did…