Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. A majority of the relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients given Mavenclad (cladribine) tablets in the CLARITY Phase 3 trial did…
Treatment
Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) can improve mental and social health in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new…
Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Ublituximab, an investigational therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), significantly outperformed Aubagio (teriflunomide) at reducing patients’…
Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Note: This story was updated April 21, 2021, to clarify that Kesimpta will be available in the next three months…
Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17–22. Go here to read the latest stories from the conference. Common B-cell depleting therapies, such as rituximab and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), may result in shorter duration B-cell depleting effects in…
Kesimpta (ofatumumab) has been approved in the U.K. as the first self-administered, at-home, B-cell-targeting therapy for people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and active disease. More specifically, the approval includes patients with either clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), or active secondary progressive MS (SPMS), who have…
Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) was given the green light by health regulators in China to treat people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) — clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS, and active secondary progressive MS. The National Medical Products Administration’s (NMPA) decision came through a priority review of clinical trial data for Tecfidera,…
Interim data from a Phase 2 trial of Immunic Therapeutics’ investigational oral therapy IMU-838 (vidofludimus calcium) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients has established a once-daily, 30 mg dose as the most appropriate for future Phase 3 trials. The…
A 78-year-old man with multiple sclerosis (MS) developed the brain infection progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) after two years of treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a recent case report detailed. Treatment was discontinued and, as the patient’s symptoms worsened, he was moved to off-label…
A Phase 3 trial investigating GA Depot, a long-acting, once-a-month injectable formulation of glatiramer acetate, is seeking patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The global study (NCT04121221) aims to include 960 adults, ages 18 to 55, diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting…
Where has the time gone? It’s been three years since I completed my second round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) infusions. So, it’s time to take another look at where this journey has taken me. Lemtrada is a monoclonal antibody treatment that wipes out rogue B- and…
The European Commission (EC) has approved a new method to administer Tysabri (natalizumab) as a treatment for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). This new delivery route involves a subcutaneous injection in which Tysabri is injected under the skin. Compared with the previously approved intravenous (into the bloodstream) formulation,…
SPMS Patient First to Be Treated With Antibody Given via Nasal Spray How great is this? As someone who gave himself an injection in his thigh for many years and received IV infusions for many more, an MS antibody treatment sprayed into the nose is wonderful news. This approval…
Prolonging a cellular defense mechanism shown to restore myelin — the protective sheath around nerve cell fibers that is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS) — may be key to treating the neurodegenerative disease, a study in MS mouse models suggests. That defense mechanism, called integrated stress response (ISR), helps…
For a first time, an immune-modulating antibody will be given via nasal administration to treat a person with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a request to use the antibody — a fully human anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody called foralumab — under an…
Off-label treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) significantly lessens disease activity and reduces the number of relapses per year in patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS), real-world data from Portugal show. The treatment also was considered safe in this population, in agreement with earlier studies. These findings support the usefulness…
Sanofi Genzyme has launched a website to help connect people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to one of the company’s four ongoing clinical trials testing its investigational therapy tolebrutinib. Interested men and women may qualify for a clinical trial if they are…
The European Commission has approved Novartis’ Kesimpta (ofatumumab) as the first self-administered, at-home B-cell-targeting therapy for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and active disease. Active disease in these forms, which include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and active secondary progressive MS (SPMS),…
Certain Factors Worsen Outcomes in MS Patients With COVID-19 The worse your MS disability is, it seems, the worse the outcome if you’re infected with the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. If you’re still debating whether to get a COVID-19 vaccine, this might help you make up your mind.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the use of a medical device called Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator or PoNS as a short-term treatment for walking difficulties in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). PoNS, developed by Helius Medical Technologies, is a non-invasive medical device…
A branch of the European Medicines Agency has recommended that Ponvory (ponesimod) be approved to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults with active disease. This positive opinion from agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) covers clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), and active secondary…
Injecting rituximab — a cancer therapy sometimes used in multiple sclerosis — into the spinal canal of people with progressive forms of MS did not demonstrably lower inflammation or improve clinical conditions, according to the results of a small trial. “Contrary to the initial high expectations, no clear-cut effect on…
Doctors in the U.K. are planning a “mega-trial” to investigate several marketed therapies — at the same time — as potential treatments to halt the progression, or even reverse the disabilities, of multiple sclerosis (MS). The world-first Octopus trial, named for its various arms, will enable researchers to concurrently…
Health Canada has approved Kesimpta (ofatumumab) for the treatment of adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have active disease, as defined by clinical and imaging features. In contrast with other B-cell-targeting therapies used in MS, patients can self-administer a precise dose of Kesimpta at home using the Sensoready…
Treatment of up to a year with memantine — an approved therapy for Alzheimer’s disease — failed to prevent cognitive decline and disability, and to significantly reduce fatigue and spasticity in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), a review of published studies shows. The therapy, sold under the brand name Namenda, works…
The degeneration of nerve cells in the retina of the eye is more pronounced in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients taking interferon-beta than in patients treated with more efficacious disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a study finds. As the loss of such cells,…
NeurologyLive, CMSC Launch Expert Video Series ‘Cure Connections’ This series of 13 videos, designed for healthcare professionals, focuses on diagnosing MS, its psychological impact, managing symptoms, and treatments. Quality-of-life issues, fatigue, and patient support networks also will be discussed. I hope general neurologists will watch it, not just MS…
Treatment with oral Ampyra (dalfampridine) improves walking ability, finger dexterity, and cognition in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an analysis of nine randomized clinical trials shows. But the investigators caution the therapy should be taken only under expert medical guidance, due to its higher rate of potential side effects. The…
A decline in the activity of the GPR17 gene is responsible for age-related brain deterioration caused by the loss of myelin, a fatty substance that surrounds nerve cells like a sheath, a mouse study discovered. Researchers identified a small molecule that rejuvenated…
An anti-inflammatory molecule — taken from a venomous fish and named TnP — with the potential to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) proved safe, without signs of cardiac or neurological problems in a recent zebrafish study, and also was found to be able to enter the brain. The findings open…
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