Magenta Therapeutics will continue to advance its investigational conditioning therapy CD45-ADC for patients with autoimmune diseases undergoing stem cell transplants, the company highlighted in a progress report. CD45-ADC is a therapy designed to remove disease-causing immune cells in a safer way when preparing patients for a stem…
treatment
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) has been approved in Scotland as a treatment for early, inflammatory primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has advised that Ocrevus can be prescribed by the National Health Service (NHS) for people with PPMS who have had symptoms for less than 15…
The high cost of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS), and the challenging process of insurance approval, lead to treatment gaps or alterations, increased symptoms, and sacrifices in lifestyle, a survey from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) shows. “People with MS are paying the price, not…
“I will have to use a wheelchair.” That was my first thought when I received a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. After I got my ticket to the weirdest whirlwind weekend that I’d never expected to attend — three days in the hospital — the myths that…
Blocking a protein called PAR1 may enhance the regeneration of myelin, the protective fatty layer that covers nerve fibers and is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), a mouse study shows. Therapeutic targeting of PAR1 may promote remyelination and delay MS progression, according to the study, “Blocking the Thrombin Receptor…
Recovering well after a first relapse and starting a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) immediately afterward considerably increases the likelihood of slowing progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. Its findings support relapse recovery as a critical factor for DMT initiation, and one that should be assessed routinely in MS…
New Trial Compares Stem Cell Treatment to Available Therapies for Severe Relapsing MS This is a biggie. The U.S. National Institutes of Health is conducting a head to head study comparing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) to the high-efficacy, disease-modifying therapies currently being used: Tysabri, Lemtrada, Ocrevus, and…
First MS Patient Dosed in Phase 2 Trial of Potential Remyelinating Therapy CNM-Au8, Clene Announces
The first participant has been dosed in the Phase 2 REPAIR-MS clinical trial examining the effects of CNM-Au8, Clene Nanomedicine‘s investigational remyelinating therapy, on brain metabolism in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), the company announced. In MS, the immune system attacks myelin, the protective sheath that surrounds…
Anavex Life Sciences has received a U.S. patent covering the use of Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine) for the treatment of several neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and Rett syndrome. Issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the new patent (no. 10,507,196) covers…
Vitalis will soon test VTS-72, a new formulation of fumarate and VTS-Aspirin, in a Phase 3 trial as a treatment for flushing — facial redness, itching or rash — in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Flushing is a common side effect of an oral MS therapy called…
A new clinical trial is comparing the best available therapies to an experimental stem cell therapy to treat severe forms of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). At the moment, more than a dozen therapies have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of relapsing forms…
Treatment with interferon-beta therapy during pregnancy in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) does not influence children’s gestational age, birth weight, length, or head size, researchers report. The study with those findings, “The association between exposure to interferon-beta during pregnancy and birth measurements in offspring of women with…
Probiotics show potential to prevent and delay the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) by changing immune and inflammatory responses, according to a review study. Data further support the link between the gut’s microbial community (microbiota) and the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), and neurodegenerative diseases. However, large-scale clinical…
Regeneration in the brain is reduced in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), but enhanced during disease activity in those with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), a study reports. The results also show that regeneration is unaffected by treatment with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), as shown by the levels…
Keep Taking the Tablets
What did I write about last New Year’s? As usual, it was related to a bodily function: urinary tract infections (UTIs). Then, readers almost unanimously recommended methenamine hippurate. I had tried several times to get the medication prescribed. Then, a few months ago, my local multiple sclerosis…
Gabapentinoids — a class of therapies sometimes used off-label to help control pain in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — can increase the risk of serious breathing problems, particularly for those who have risk factors like poorer lung function or use opioid pain medicines, according to a warning…
The growing reliance on disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has led to fewer hospitalizations but not a drop in the number of physician visits, a population study of DMTs and their impact on healthcare use in Canada reports. The study, “Association between…
People with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) have a better prognosis and a slower progression to disability since the introduction of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) some 20 years ago, according to a retrospective study. The study, “Outcomes in a Modern Cohort of Treated Multiple Sclerosis Patients Followed from Diagnosis Up…
Throughout 2019, Multiple Sclerosis News Today brought you daily coverage of the latest scientific findings, treatment developments, and clinical trials related to multiple sclerosis (MS). We look forward to reporting more news to patients, family members, and caregivers dealing with MS during 2020. Here are the top 10 most-read articles of…
As more high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are being made available, people with multiple sclerosis have to decide how much risk they’re willing to accept in exchange for the treatment’s potential benefits. It’s a tough decision not made any easier if a patient’s neurologist is unwilling to accept much risk.
Many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients consider autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) potentially effective in treating their disease, but most report needing more — and more reliable — information to make a reasoned decision regarding its benefits and risks, a survey found. Those who are dissatisfied with their current…
Pear Therapeutics announced that a first patient is being treated in Part 2 of its feasibility trial of Pear-006, a software application that, given along with a disease-modifying therapy, delivers cognitive behavioral therapy and other neurobehavioral approaches to ease depression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Pear-006, being developed…
Measuring the speed of signals sent to the brain by nerves in the eye could help assess if remyelination is taking place, a study in cats suggests. Such measurements could be useful in evaluating multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments aiming to repair myelin in clinical trials — of particular interest…
For its promising investigational therapeutic approach to neurodegenerative diseases, including progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is the Buzz of BIO 2020 winner in the Public Therapeutic Biotech category. The Buzz of BIO contest identifies U.S. companies with groundbreaking, early-stage potential to improve lives. The…
MetP Pharma Awarded US Patent for Potential Remyelination Therapy Mention remyelination and the reaction from most of us with multiple sclerosis is probably, “How soon?” This announcement makes me hope that it’s now a little sooner. The process combines testosterone with a compound that changes the activity of something…
Stop in the Name of Leukocytes
I rolled onto the neurology ward of the hospital that has been dealing with my disease from the beginning. The nurses, whom I’ve met innumerable times, opened with their normal jolly, “How are you?” I can never resist, “Well, I have got MS!” It was 8 in the morning. I’d…
MetP Pharma‘s patent application for a new method to treat demyelinating and neuroinflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), has been approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent, titled “Treatment of Demyelinating Diseases” (U.S. Appl. No. 16/506,830), is valid until 2039,…
People with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) across Canada are a major step closer to having access to EMD Serono’s Mavenclad (cladribine). EMD Serono, known as Merck KGaA outside of North America, has finish negotiations with the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) that oversees new drugs coming in,…
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 two forum topics about silent inflammation from August 2019. Have an experience you want…
Tysabri (natalizumab), an effective T-cell targeting treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), seems to also promote the activation of pro-inflammatory immune B-cells in people with this disease, a study found. The study, “Natalizumab promotes activation and pro-inflammatory differentiation of peripheral B cells in multiple sclerosis patients,” was published in the…