treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is extending its review of Novartis‘ ofatumumab, a possible self-administered injection therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), the company announced. Originally expected in June, the FDA decision is now expected in September. “Novartis will continue to work with the FDA to…

Zeposia (ozanimod), a newly approved oral capsule treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), is now commercially available in the United States, its manufacturer, Bristol Myers Squibb, announced. “We are pleased to now bring Zeposia, an important new once daily treatment option, to [relapsing]…

A clinical trial testing Midamor (amiloride), Prozac (fluoxetine), and riluzole in people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) failed to find a treatment benefit for any of the…

Air Pollution of Urban Life Raises MS Risk, Study from Italy Suggests I grew up in New York City. It’s hard to get more urban than that. There weren’t many factories spewing pollution, but there certainly were a lot of cars, trucks, and buses, and I inhaled more than…

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved a shorter infusion time for Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), an approved treatment for people with relapsing or primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The approval follows a positive recommendation from EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP),…

Atara Biotherapeutics‘ cell-based therapy ATA188 is safe and well-tolerated in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and induces a sustained reduction in disability in a dose-dependent manner, findings from the first part of a Phase 1 clinical trial show. ATA188 had an…

Ofatumumab (OMB157) elicits a strong and fast reduction in the levels of circulating immune cells in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), effectively helping to stop disease activity, according to new data from the Phase 2 APLIOS trial. The medication was also found to be more…

The European Commission (EC) has approved Zeposia (ozanimod) for the treatment of adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have active disease based on clinical or imaging features. The EC decision follows a positive opinion issued in March by the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).

Higher Risk of Vascular Disease Among MS Patients in the UK, Population-based Study Reveals You’d think that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) would be likely to have vascular disease due to the sedentary lifestyles many of us lead. But this large, lengthy study that looks at the records of…

Note: This story was updated May 27, 2020, to note a change in the protocol of the EVOLUTION trials, which are now comparing evobrutinib with Aubagio, rather than Avonex, along with updated NCT numbers. The investigational oral medication evobrutinib leads to a sustained reduction in relapse rates…

Human glial progenitor cells — forerunners of nerve cells that protect and support neurons — transplanted into adult mice in a model of multiple sclerosis (MS) were seen to restore myelin production and motor function in the animals. This study and others it builds on “establish an operational…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum post “Need advice about CBD oil,” published on Nov. 1, 2018. Share your…

Movements that are an act of “learning” motor tasks after lesions appear in the protective myelin sheath of neurons seem to induce both new and existing oligodendrocytes — the cells that make up myelin — to repair those lesions, a study in mice shows. Precisely timed rehabilitation programs and exercise may…

Biogen has released new data on several of its therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), including Vumerity (diroximel fumarate), Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), and Tysabri (natalizumab). The data — six presentations — originally were to be presented at the 2020 annual conference of the American…

Glatopa, a generic form of Copaxone, is as effective as the brand-name medication in terms of disease outcomes and has similar healthcare-related costs in real-world use in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), a new U.S. study suggests. Data also suggest a trend toward lower relapse rates with Glatopa…

In the brains of people with advanced multiple sclerosis (MS), memory immune cells reside in the brain tissue rather than entering through the bloodstream, a new study suggests. The study, “Tissue-resident memory T cells invade the brain parenchyma in multiple sclerosis white matter lesions,” was published…

Targeting the MOSPD2 protein may prevent immune cells known as monocytes from entering the central nervous system (CNS), which may significantly ease brain inflammation and myelin damage in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study in mice suggests. VBL Therapeutics, the company leading the study, has developed…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted breakthrough device designation to Helius Medical Technologies’ portable neuromodulation stimulator (PoNS) for the treatment of walking impairments in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The device, which is meant to be used…

A patient registry of multiple sclerosis (MS) among veterans of the U.S. military has been created to allow for better clinical management of these people and to inform future research. The registry is described in the study “…

Sativex (nabiximols) eases spasticity-associated symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, including those with no significant improvements in a validated spasticity scale, according to a large study from Italy. The findings support previous studies suggesting that spasticity scales may not be enough to evaluate patients’ responses to Sativex and to…

FDA Approves Bafiertam, Tecfidera Bioequivalent, for Relapsing MS This is the second disease-modifying therapy (DMT) OK’d by the FDA in the past few months. Bafiertam is a delayed-release pill that’s similar to Tecfidera, but it’s said that it has fewer side effects. Unfortunately, its manufacturer hasn’t yet made it…

MMJ International Holdings announced that it has been given clearance to ship its cannabis-based products to the U.S. for use in future clinical trials of potential cannabis-based treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and Huntington’s disease. The process was facilitated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which worked alongside…

My stomach is grumbling. I’ve just had the worst weekend ever. And that includes when I had my first sclerosis and smashed my shoulder to pieces on a tennis court. I mentioned last week that I didn’t want to write about C. diff., but this appalling infectious bacteria…

I love it when a multiple sclerosis treatment works well for someone. It doesn’t matter if that treatment is a medication, a form of physical therapy, or a diet. Good news is good news. So, when I saw this post on the Lemtrada for MS Treatment Facebook group, I…

IC 100, a monoclonal antibody by ZyVersa Therapeutics that prevents the assembly of inflammasomes — a pro-inflammatory cellular complex — lessened inflammation and halted disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study of mice shows.xa The study, “IC100: a novel anti-ASC monoclonal antibody improves functional outcomes…

A high-dose chemotherapy combination given to wipe out the immune system before its rescue with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) can cause “transient” damage to neurons and supporting cells of the central nervous system in people with aggressive multiple sclerosis (MS), a Canadian study reports. Nonetheless, its researchers believe…

People with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) being treated with Gilenya (fingolimod) for eight or more years show smaller increases in disability over 10 years than those using this treatment for a shorter time, a long-term follow-up study reports. Longer use of Gilenya also resulted in lesser disability progression,…

NurOwn, believed to have neuroprotective and repairing effects, may also be able to curb the damaging immune responses that contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS) progression, a recent study found. This newly identified potential may extend the benefits of this cell-based therapy, its researchers believe. The findings were to be presented…

COVID-19 infection in a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient being treated with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) — an immunosuppressive therapy — was not associated with any serious complications, a case study reports. This finding supports current suggestions that immunosuppressive therapies, by dampening immune and inflammatory responses, may help to protect…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given final approval to Banner Life Sciences’ Bafiertam (monomethyl fumarate), a bioequivalent alternative to Biogen’s Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) to treat people with relapsing…