treatment

DELIVER-MS Trial Recruiting RRMS Patients to Help Improve Treatment Decision-making What’s the best way to attack multiple sclerosis when it’s first diagnosed? Do you hit it hard and fast using the most effective disease-modifying therapy (DMT), or do you start with a lower efficacy DMT and slowly ramp up?…

The relative risk of developing cancer was found to be higher in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who more frequently switched between disease-modifying treatments, according to a study. In addition, researchers found an increased incidence of cancer in male MS patients from 20 to 50 years old, and in female…

By tweaking stem cells in a laboratory, researchers were able to generate a model of the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) in a chip. The BBB is a highly selective barrier that is damaged in multiple sclerosis (MS), allowing immune cells to reach the central nervous system and damage…

A new artificial intelligence (AI)-based model is better than conventional methods for detecting brain changes in response to treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study reports. The study, “High-dimensional detection of imaging response to treatment in multiple sclerosis,” was published in…

A clinical trial based at the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Nottingham, U.K., is recruiting patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to compare two treatment strategies, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced. The Phase 4 study, called DELIVER-MS (NCT03535298), intends to enroll about 800…

Startup company Oscine Therapeutics has received an investment from Sana Biotechnology to support the research and development of cell-based therapies for a variety of neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). This venture is based on work done over the past several decades in the lab of Steve…

Aubagio (teriflunomide), an approved medicine for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), specifically targets highly metabolic and more autoreactive T-cells, analysis of the Phase 3 TERI-DYNAMIC clinical trial data shows. The findings, contrary to expectations, support a selective effect of Aubagio on different T-cell populations. The study “Teriflunomide treatment for multiple sclerosis modulates T cell mitochondrial respiration with affinity-dependent effects” was published in the Science Translational Medicine journal. In MS, immune cells, or lymphocytes known as T-cells, attack and destroy myelin, the fat-rich substance that wraps around nerve fibers (axons). Myelin loss creates lesions that affect nerves of the brain and spinal cord. Previous evidence suggested that T-cells, depending on their active or resting state, rely on specific ways of energy production or metabolism. Aubagio, marketed by Sanofi Genzyme, is a well-known inhibitor of a mitochondrial enzyme called dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), that is crucial for the activity of T-cells. However, how Aubagio selectively targets the autoreactive T-cells is poorly understood. To shed light on this matter, an international group of researchers used data from the TERI-DYNAMIC clinical trial that tested Aubagio in patients with relapsing form of MS to better understand how the therapy inhibited the patients' self-immune responses. The Phase 3, open-label TERI-DYNAMIC trial (NCT01863888) included 70 patients from Belgium, Germany, and The Netherlands, aged 18 to 56. Participants received Aubagio as a 14 milligram (mg) once-daily, oral dose, and researchers assessed the changes in immune cells' profile up to 24 weeks. Results showed that, contrary to what was expected, Aubagio was not generally decreasing T-cell levels in treated patients. Instead, it significantly reduced a particular subset of T-cells, called "Th1 helper cells." Moreover, researchers found that the diversity of T-cell receptors — the surface proteins that can recognize a particular antigen (a protein that can elicit an immune response) — making T-cells specific to a certain target was reduced in MS patients after treatment with Aubagio. These findings suggested that some T-cells were particularly susceptible to Aubagio. Using a mouse model for MS, the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, researchers showed that the CD4+ T-cells (helper T-cells) and CD8+ T-cells, those that reacted most strongly against self-antigens, were the most sensitive to DHODH inhibition by Aubagio. Moreover, researchers saw that Aubagio was not affecting the production of pro-inflammatory molecules — called cytokines — at the cell level, but their overall decrease probably was due to the reduction in T-cell numbers. In line with these findings, CD4+ T-cells that produced the cytokine interferon gamma were significantly reduced with Aubagio treatment, whereas CD4+ T-cells that produced interleukin 17A were unchanged. This suggests that Aubagio is able to interfere with specific sub-types of immune cells. When the team compared the metabolic profile of T-cells from healthy subjects with that from patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) in both remission and in relapse phases, they found that the metabolism of T-cells from the last group was significantly altered, and thus targetable. Altogether, the results suggested that T-cells with a high-affinity to self-antigens are more susceptible to inhibition of the DHODH enzyme by Aubagio. “Therapeutic targeting of metabolic alterations might represent an attractive concept in MS, and might represent an as yet unrecognized key mechanism of teriflunomide-mediated immune modulation in this disease,” the researchers concluded.

FDA and EMA to Review Ozanimod as Possible Oral Therapy for Relapsing MS Another disease-modifying therapy (DMT) is a step closer to gaining approval for use both in the U.S. and in Europe. And that’s good news. The discouraging news, however, is that once again, the approval is being…

Exosomes — tiny vesicles secreted by cells — collected from bone marrow stem cells and injected into a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) helped to treat the disease, a study reports. Specifically, this treatment eased myelin loss and neuroinflammation in the mice, and improved motor function, the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) both agreed to review for possible approval ozanimod, Celgene‘s investigational oral therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). An FDA decision on the company’s New Drug Application for ozanimod is expected on…

Sutter Health, a California-based healthcare group, has partnered with the biotechnology company Roche to test a new mobile app that aims to improve monitoring of symptoms in people who have multiple sclerosis (MS). The app, called Floodlight, “may give neurologists access to meaningful, actionable patient data to…

The pro-inflammatory protein interleukin-17 (IL-17) drives inflammation by promoting a chemical modification, called phosphorylation, in the RNA molecule of the regnase-1 enzyme, a mouse study shows. These findings support the development of therapeutics that block the phosphorylation of regnase-1 to halt IL-17-mediated inflammation, as seen in multiple…

In partnership with @Point of Care, the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is offering a comprehensive educational video series about multiple sclerosis (MS). The concise, 12-part series — titled “Understanding Multiple Sclerosis” —  features neurologist and MS expert Michelle T. Fabian, MD, and covers…

Cyxone Nears First-in-human Trial for Investigational Preventive MS Treatment T20K Multiple sclerosis can be treated but it can’t be prevented — at least not yet. But these researchers hope that a substance derived from a natural plant protein called T20K will be able to ease or even prevent MS…

Mavenclad (cladribine) may surpass Gilenya (fingolimod) in the category of oral disease-modifying therapy (DMT) of choice for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Canada, according to a press release. The Canadian healthcare market for MS has grown considerably over the past two years. In November…

Targeting the excessive activation of immune cells called neutrophils, and the associated oxidative stress, may be a therapeutic strategy in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a mouse study. The study, “Deficiency of Socs3 leads to brain-targeted EAE via enhanced neutrophil activation and ROS production,” was…

Cyxone submitted an application to the Netherlands research ethics committee to start the first clinical trial in humans testing T20K, its investigational preventive treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). Approval by the Netherlands regulating authority…

Corrona has expanded its collaborative multiple sclerosis (MS) U.S. patient registry to include Genentech, the first pharmaceutical company to participate. Established in 2017, the Corrona MS Registry is a real-world U.S.-based registry, developed in collaboration with the National MS Society. Its goal is to help guide treatment decisions based on…

The latest research in multiple sclerosis (MS), along with the most recent advancements in treatment strategies and comprehensive care, will be presented at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting, which beings today. Running through June 1 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, the…

The first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2B clinical trial evaluating the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of SAR442168 in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). SAR442168, formerly known as PRN2246, is being developed by Principia Biopharma, in collaboration with Sanofi Genzyme, for MS and other central nervous…

Early, positive safety results from a Phase 1 trial testing a potential immunotherapy, ATA188, in people with progressive multiple sclerosis will be detailed at the 5th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) late next month, its developer, Atara Biotherapeutics, announced. ATA188 is an investigational and “off-the-shelf”…

Reactivation of ancient viruses incorporated into the human genome in the course of evolution may be involved in the acute inflammatory response that is characteristic of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study says. The findings of the study, “Expression of endogenous retroviruses reflects increased usage of atypical enhancers in…

Simvastatin, a widely prescribed statin that works to lower cholesterol levels, may slow brain atrophy and disease progression in people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) for reasons unrelated to changes in blood cholesterol, a new analysis of a Phase 2 clinical trial reports. These findings are in…

EMD Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA in the U.S. and Canada, announced the launch of the company’s Multiple Sclerosis Leadership and Innovation Network (MS-LINK), an interdisciplinary research community aimed at improving the care of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). The program will combine clinical outcomes…

#AANAM – Biogen Offers Update on Development Plans for MS Therapies The pharma company that brought you Tysabri (natalizumab) is investigating a new process for treating multiple sclerosis. The treatment looks for something called neurofilament light chain (NfL), a potential biomarker that’s released from damaged neurons.

Pear Therapeutics, in collaboration with Novartis, has launched a study evaluating the clinical use of Pear-006, its software-based prescription digital therapeutics (PDT) product for treating depression symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). PDTs belong to a new class of treatment strategies in healthcare intended to treat diseases,…

Investigational therapy evobrutinib, also known as M2951, can reduce relapse rates and brain lesions in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), 48-week data from a Phase 2 clinical trial suggest. Updated results from the trial (NCT02975349) were presented at the recent 2019 annual…

In my recent conversation with Terry Wahls, MD, creator of the Wahls diet for multiple sclerosis (MS), she said something that resonated with me: “You can’t change your genes, but you can change your gene’s expression.” How true this statement is. However, it was only a few short years ago that Dr. Wahls’ diet protocol, and “food as medicine” philosophy was being met with strong criticism from the medical community. Nowadays, the modified paleolithic diet and lifestyle program she facilitates at the Wahls Institute in Iowa is being touted as the work of a visionary.

Dear Doctor, Why is it that you, or at least some of your colleagues, think that multiple sclerosis isn’t painful? Did you skip the med school class where they discussed MS? Are you not a neurologist, or are you a neurologist who doesn’t specialize in MS? Whatever the reason, this “MS…

Out-of-pocket costs for medications treating neurological diseases have skyrocketed over the last 12 years in the U.S., with multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, especially, paying 20 times more in 2016 than they were in 2004, a study reported. “Given the high costs of…