treatment

Note: This study was updated March 3, 2025, to correct that a ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. Eating a version of the low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet for six months led to an anti-inflammatory shift in immune cell populations among people with stable, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)…

Treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) may have a beneficial effect on paramagnetic rim lesions — known as PRL, these are a type of chronic inflammatory lesion — in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a newly shared analysis. PRLs, a form of nerve damage seen in MS, have…

A noninvasive brain stimulation technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) doesn’t seem to ease fatigue in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) when given at home with computer-based cognitive training, according to one of the largest studies of its kind. While the home-based intervention was deemed feasible, combining daily…

A statistical model that takes clinical and demographic factors into account could help guide treatment decisions in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who haven’t yet started on a multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy, a study reports. “Our study offers a predictive tool that fulfills an unmet need for…

Tiziana Life Sciences is partnering with a contract development and manufacturing organization with expertise in intranasal drugs to accelerate the development and commercial launch of foralumab, a treatment designed to be sprayed into the nose. Tiziana’s medication is being investigated in an expanded access program (EAP) and a…

Using an implantable scaffold to collect immune cells in mice, researchers have gained insights into the immunological mechanisms driving primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Based on the findings, the scientists developed a treatment strategy to block specific inflammatory molecules, which eased MS severity in the mouse model. The study,…

Four more people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) have received foralumab nasal spray — Tiziana Life Sciences’ therapy candidate for SPMS — via an expanded access program, the biotechnology company announced. That program allows patients who do not qualify for an ongoing Phase 2a clinical…

Using Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as a first-line treatment for early-stage relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is significantly better at delaying disease progression than starting with a less effective drug and switching to Ocrevus later. That’s according to nine years of data from the OPERA I (NCT01247324) and…

Switching from anti-CD20 medications to less effective fumarate therapies is linked to reduced healthcare visits and costs related to infections after a year, without affecting the rate of relapses in stable multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s according to an analysis of a U.S. healthcare claims database, which compared switchers against…

Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with low educational attainment are more likely to delay the start of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) after a diagnosis than those with a high educational status, a Danish study suggests. Educational status wasn’t significantly associated with diagnostic delays after the onset of symptoms,…

In a new deal, TG Therapeutics will use MaxCyte’s engineering technology to develop and manufacture its off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy candidate azercabtagene zapreleucel — azer-cel for short — for adults with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The experimental treatment is being advanced toward a Phase 1…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with oxybutynin. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. A few years ago, I spent the summer at my mom’s apartment because I’d been living in college dorms and my semester…

Experts in Australia and New Zealand have published the first consensus guidelines for the care of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) in those countries, a step designed to help general practitioners and neurologists navigate the new MS treatment landscape. “Through these guidelines, we aim to support safe, timely and…

Less frequent Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) infusions are as effective as standard dosing — when treatment is given typically every six months — for controlling multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity, but may help limit the risk of side effects, a new study reports. “These findings suggest that [extended-interval dosing] could…

A three-month course of acupuncture was associated with gains in certain aspects of cognition for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in a small clinical trial. The traditional Chinese medicine was also linked to less fatigue, improved sleep, and reductions in certain psychological problems such as depression. The findings…

Stem cell transplant can be considered a viable treatment option for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) who are young, early in the disease course, do not have other major health issues, and have failed to respond to available medications, according to a new set of recommendations. The procedure…

Intranasal foralumab can modulate a number of immune cell types in people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a study showed, revealing new immune biomarkers that show how the therapy exerts its effects in people with the condition. After three months of treatment, gene activity data showed that…

Recently, a historic winter storm brought record amounts of snow to the northern parts of the Sunshine State. Some areas of Florida’s panhandle surpassed 8 inches of snow! It has snowed before in Florida, but this level of snowfall and ground cover is a first. Despite my immense excitement about…

A 14-week regimen of physical therapy combined with PoNS — a neurostimulator device used to improve mobility — led to significant gait improvements in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), with evidence that its benefits are sustained over time, according to new data from the real-world PoNSTEP clinical study.

Tech company Century Health has entered into a partnership to organize and clean Nira Medical‘s datasets from more than 3,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to help make clinical data more available for researchers to explore insights toward developing new treatments. “We’re thrilled to partner with Nira…

The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has cleared Pheno Therapeutics to initiate a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial to test its oral candidate PTD802 in healthy volunteers. The therapy is a selective small molecule antagonist, or inhibitor, of the GPR17 receptor and is designed to restore…

TG Therapeutics is working to develop a subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, version of Briumvi (ublituximab-xiiy), its approved therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The company said it plans to start a pivotal clinical program this year which could support an application seeking approval of the…

I’ve written several times before about how unpleasant it was to catch giardia while serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, but I wasn’t the only person to get sick from drinking contaminated water. On one mission, we’d gotten up far too early to make coffee and had some…

Patient enrollment has been completed ahead of schedule in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating Contineum Therapeutics‘ PIPE-307, an oral therapy aiming to restore myelin — a process known as remyelination — in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the company announced. The VISTA trial (NCT06083753), launched…

Immunic Therapeutics says it remains “on track” in testing its multiple sclerosis treatment candidate vidofludimus calcium in twin Phase 3 clinical trials with people who have relapsing disease — and in the Phase 2 CALLIPER study involving those with progressive forms of MS. Indeed, in a new company…

OCS-05, an experimental medication that Oculis is developing to treat acute optic neuritis, a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) that can lead to vision loss, was well tolerated and improved measures of vision and eye health in a Phase 2 clinical trial. The ACUITY study (NCT04762017) included…

IRX4204, a compound that Io Therapeutics is developing to treat neurological diseases, facilitated myelin repair and improved walking abilities in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a recent study, scientists report. “Our findings support the therapeutic potential of IRX4204 to promote functional neurologic recovery in…

Treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) significantly reduces relapse rates for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and most MS patients on the approved therapy remain free from disability progression for several years. That’s according to a final analysis from the Phase 4 ESTEEM clinical trial (NCT02047097), which tracked…

Most treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) don’t increase the risk of major problems when used during pregnancy, an analysis showed. “We found that most therapies were not associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth or major birth defects,” Kerstin Hellwig, MD, study co-author and MS specialist at…

Men with multiple sclerosis (MS) who started on high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) experienced significantly fewer relapses than those who started with moderate-efficacy DMTs, according to real-world claims analysis involving more than 10,000 U.S. patients. “No significant difference in relapse was found among females,” researchers wrote. “This observation highlights…