A researcher and neurologist at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia has won the 2025 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research for his work in uncovering immune mechanisms of multiple sclerosis (MS), identifying disease biomarkers, and finding new avenues toward tailored medicine. The prize comes with a sculpture and…
treatment
A high dose cholecalciferol, a form of vitamin D, significantly reduced the risk of further disease activity in people with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), published findings from a Phase 3 trial show. Vitamin D was similarly effective for reducing disease activity among a subgroup of participants who would…
Natasha Quariab relaxes in her garden in Amman, Jordan, in 2023. (Photos courtesy of Natasha Quariab) Day 29 of 31 This is Natasha Quariab’s story: I woke up and tried to move my right leg. Nothing. My heart pounded. This couldn’t be happening. Not here, alone in a snowy…
A multicenter Phase 2a clinical trial testing Tiziana Life Sciences’ foralumab nasal spray in people with nonactive secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) has dosed the first patients enrolled at Yale MS Center. The Phase 2a study (NCT06292923) is assessing the treatment’s safety and efficacy against a placebo in…
Fampridine, which is approved to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and the disease-modifying therapy Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) seem to have the greatest benefits on MS walking abilities, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of treatment options. The data align with previous findings for fampridine, which…
Just before a deployment, all the teams in my military unit received a large supply of medical gear that included two medical backpacks, or aid bags. As the team’s medic, I elected not to bring them, because I already had a bag that I liked, and the new ones looked…
Note: This story was updated April 4, 2025, to clarify the specific disability measures and that tolebrutinib is believed to target smoldering neuroinflammation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review to an application from Sanofi seeking the approval of its BTK inhibitor…
Treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) may help delay disability progression in people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) over Rebif (interferon beta-1a), an analysis of data from two clinical trials suggests. While the trials initially failed to demonstrate slowing disease progression, a significant benefit was observed when accounting…
Sacral neuromodulation (SNM), in which an implanted device delivers mild electrical pulses to the nerves that control the bladder, led to sustained improvements in urinary function in half of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who underwent surgery to have the device put into place, according to a review of…
Starting Tysabri (natalizumab) early in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment may lead to better outcomes, including greater reductions in relapse rates and less use of MS-related healthcare services over starting it after other therapies. That’s according to a U.S. healthcare claims analysis of more than 1,500 adults with MS.
Latifa Janahi takes a five-day course of corticosteroids to reduce inflammation in her body. (Photos courtesy of Latifa Janahi) Day 19 of 31 This is Latifa Janahi’s story: I am a woman from Bahrain Island who’s passionate about technology and baking. After working in the tech field for 10…
Myrobalan Therapeutics has been awarded a grant of more than $850,000 from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to advance its new oral candidate MRO-002 for treating progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The funding was made through the society’s Fast Forward program, which seeks to bridge the…
Artificial intelligence (AI) platforms did better than most neurologists at answering a 20-question assessment about multiple sclerosis (MS) in a recent study, suggesting that AI may be a helpful tool for MS care. Neurologists with an MS specialty scored as well, on average, as the AI platforms, while neurology…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who receive anti-CD20 therapies such as Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) are significantly less likely to discontinue their treatment compared with patients who are given other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a Swiss study has found. Staying on treatment may be related to the effectiveness of B-cell-depleting…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a prefilled syringe format for Ani Pharmaceuticals’ purified Cortrophin Gel that’s expected to reduce the number of steps needed for administering the therapy — used in multiple sclerosis (MS) to treat relapses. The approval means that people with conditions…
In people with multiple sclerosis (MS), lesions that get slowly bigger over time, potentially due to chronic inflammation, are associated with more myelin loss throughout the brain, a study found. Loss of myelin was observed in these slowly expanding lesions, in other types of lesions, and also in regions…
Using a simple algorithm to recommend highly effective disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can help make treatment fairer for all patients, and level inequalities otherwise defined by race or ethnicity, a new study by U.S. researchers suggests. Indeed, use of the algorithm over a…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who switch from a high- to a moderate-efficacy disease-modifying therapy (DMT) increase their risk of disease activity, especially younger adults and those having inflammatory disease activity before a switch, a study finds. Knowing these factors “can help guide future studies on deescalation,” researchers…
Note: This story was updated March 6, 2025, to clarify the specific disability measures and results assessed in each trial. Sanofi’s experimental BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib may be more effective at reducing the risk of disability accumulation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have evidence of paramagnetic…
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…
Over the past decade, diagnoses of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Finland have become faster and treatments now follow the latest evidence, with about five times as many patients receiving high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) as first-line options, a study finds. Drawing on registry data, researchers found that diagnoses are…
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…
Interactions between the body’s immune system and bacteria that live in the digestive tract — essentially, a person’s gut — become disrupted in multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study by U.S. researchers found. The human intestines are home to billions of bacteria and other microorganisms, collectively known as the…
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,…