treatment

While pregnancy does not appear to affect the disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS), questions remain about the best time to stop or resume treatment before conception and after delivery, the safety of new medications, and the importance of family planning. Pregnancy was the “hot topic” discussion today…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) experts discuss disease causes and current treatment options in a new video series released by the multimedia and peer-reviewed science journal, The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC).  The free and online video series is part…

NervGen Pharma announced plans to open clinical trials evaluating the potential of its lead candidate NVG-291 to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and spinal cord injury. NVG-291 is an investigational peptide that has shown an ability to stimulate nerve regeneration following an injury in several animal models of disease.

Brain inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) hijacks immature myelin repair cells, not only preventing myelin restoration but also promoting sustained inflammation and immune attacks against myelin, a preclinical study shows.

Mapi Pharma will present recent advances in its potential multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies, including GA Depot, at the 35th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) opening this week. ECTRIMS runs from Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 11–13, in Stockholm. Among the work disclosed will be…

Like most of you, I take medication for my multiple sclerosis. Copaxone is my medication of choice, though I have recently switched to the generic version, glatiramer acetate. I’ve taken shots every day for years, so I was thrilled when the dosage dropped to three days a week.

Oral ozanimod is more effective at reducing the frequency of relapses than Avonex (interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and does so with reasonable safety, results of Phase 3 trial show. These findings were described in the study, “Safety and efficacy of ozanimod…

Sandoz, a division of Novartis dedicated to the development of biosimilars, has entered an agreement with Polpharma Biologics, a biopharmaceutical company also dedicated to the manufacture of biosimilars, to develop and market a biosimilar to Biogen‘s Tysabri (natalizumab). Tysabri is a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) that was …

Scientists may have found a way to manipulate T-helper 17 (Th17) cells so as to lower their ability to trigger inflammation, delaying the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model and slowing its progression without affecting the entire immune system. Their findings may lead to new treatments with fewer…

Monthly injections of ofatumumab led to more clinically meaningful reductions in relapse rates and delayed disability progression than did daily treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) tablets in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), results from two Phase 3 trials showed. Ofatumumab, formerly known as OMB157, is a potent, self-administered…

It probably comes as no surprise to you that the costs of some of the most popular MS medications have been soaring. A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh reports that their list prices have more than quadrupled in a decade. And out-of-pocket costs rose even more.

New guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) recommend that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) keep up with regular vaccinations, including annual flu shots, but be sure to first advise their doctor on medications they are using. The guidelines were published in the journal Neurology, in the report…

The out-of-pocket costs for self-administered disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients on Medicare increased more than sevenfold from 2006 to 2016, according to a new study. This was reported by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh in a…

Two new studies delve into the structure of SARM1, an enzyme that plays a key role in nerve cell degeneration, and are expected to aid the development of targeted therapies for neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and peripheral neuropathies. SARM1…

Treating at-risk relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients is most cost-effective with Mavenclad (cladribine) tablets when compared to Gilenya (fingolimod), Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) or Tysabri (natalizumab), according to a study in Dutch patients. The study, “Cost Effectiveness of Cladribine Tablets for the Treatment of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis in…

The first in-human clinical trial of EHP-101, an investigational treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and systemic scleroderma (SSc), has been successfully completed, Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals (EHP) announced. EHP-101 demonstrated it was safe and well-tolerated in healthy volunteers, supporting further clinical development of EHP-101 in future Phase 2 clinical trials. The…

Rituximab Leads to ‘Dramatic’ Recovery in Boy with Aggressive RRMS, Case Study Reports I dislike using adjectives such as “dramatic” when describing treatment results. I think they frequently blow things out of proportion. However, after reading about how this young boy in Greece responded to Rituximab as a “rescue…

Treatment with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) is associated with the death of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) more often than previously reported and appears to be most common during the first month, according to a European review. The study, “Adverse events with fatal outcome associated…

I was struck down by sclerosis in 2006 — literally. I was playing tennis and ran to return a drop shot. I never made it, but I did drop myself and rupture my right shoulder. It was so severe that it took two operations to rectify. The first few years…

Choosing which MS medication to use is one of the most difficult decisions for someone with MS and their neurologist. After 39 years with MS, and with four disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on my medical chart, I’m definitely on the hit-it-fast, hit-it-hard side of that treatment decision. So, I was…

Treatment with rituximab — sold as Rituxan in the U.S. by Roche and Biogen, and as MabThera by Roche in Europe — reversed disease course in a “dramatic fashion,” leading to complete remission in a 12-year-old boy with aggressive relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a case report states. The report, “…

The complexity in underlying mechanisms, a lack of representative research models, and inconsistent criteria defining therapeutic benefit are the main reasons why an effective therapy for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is still lacking, researchers maintain in a review study. Nevertheless, as research continues to shed light on…

I knew nothing about multiple sclerosis (MS) before 2012, including the cause, the cure, or any other details. I had so many unanswered questions about how I would live with MS when I was diagnosed. I had never heard of treatment for MS and was unsure of the…

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A), a molecule that mediates immune and inflammatory responses, likely promotes inflammation and tissue damage in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and should be considered a potential target for treating the disease, a study reports. The findings of the study, “IL-17A is associated with the breakdown of the…

Novartis‘ Gilenya (fingolimod), Sanofi Genzyme‘s Aubagio (teriflunomide), and Biogen’s Tysabri (natalizumab) and Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) are the top disease-modifying therapies to which patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have most frequently switched in…

When it comes to initial treatment selection for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), there is one question that has yet to be answered: Is it better to start with potentially safer moderately effective disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) or to hit the disease immediately with a high-efficacy DMT that may be…

Our brains — much like our joints — stiffen with age, causing brain stem cells called oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) to lose their ability to proliferate and transform into oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin, an essential component for nerve cell communication, a study found. But tricking OPCs into sensing a…

Dark Rimmed Brain Lesions May Be Signal of Aggressive Disease, NIH Study Says Researchers in this study found that specific brain lesions, notable for their dark rims, may indicate that a patient’s multiple sclerosis is likely to progress quickly. They suggest that early detection of these lesions can help…

The National Health Service (NHS) England announced an initiative that aims to speed diagnoses and ensure better all-around care for people with progressive neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease, and motor neuron disease (MND). Experts at NHS England, as part of the NHS RightCare…

“Diet is profound. Lifestyle is profound. All patients should be taught how profound these things are.”  — Terry Wahls, MS thriver and founder of the Wahls Protocol  Western medicine has long approached multiple sclerosis (MS) and autoimmune disorders through traditional methods. While there have been…