Nearly one year of treatment with tolebrutinib, an oral small molecule being developed by Sanofi, failed to eliminate iron rim lesions in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a small Phase 2 clinical trial. Researchers are continuing to examine study results to determine…
Trial results
The experimental BTK inhibitor evobrutinib was no better than Aubagio (teriflunomide) at preventing relapses, reducing brain lesions, or slowing disability progression in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from two Phase 3 trials. Both medications had generally similar safety profiles, although increases…
Supplements of indole 3-lactate (ILA), a molecule made by gut bacteria, significantly reduced disease severity and promoted myelin repair in mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s according to new findings presented by Larissa Jank, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University, at the Americas Committee for Treatment…
Both balance and endurance training can help to ease fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — but if problems with balance are a concern, then balance training would be the best choice as it targets both fatigue and balance, a small study found. The study, “Fatigue may…
About 4 in 5 people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who receive a stem cell transplant remain free of relapses for at least six years, and this may translate into being able to get back to work, a small study from Norway suggests. The study, “Autologous hematopoietic…
Real-world data collected from a registry can be used to reliably compare the effectiveness of different multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments, so long as appropriate methodologies are employed to account for the messiness — what researchers call confounding bias — of real-world data, according to a new study. While registries…
Use of oral ibudilast — being explored as a treatment for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) — was found to significantly slow the growth of chronic active lesions in the brains of patients with the neurodegenerative disease, according to MRI data from the SPRINT-MS study. Such lesions…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a Phase 2 clinical trial to test Kyverna Therapeutics‘ cell-based therapy candidate KYV-101 in people with treatment-resistant progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Called KYSA-7 (NCT06138132), the open-label trial will enroll an estimated 12 patients with either primary progressive…
Sending SMS text messages to people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — with tips for fatigue self-management and to regularly check in on them — may be a feasible, acceptable, and engaging tool to help these patients manage disease-related fatigue, according to a pilot study. The findings also showed some…
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) did not significantly reduce the number or volume of inflammatory lesions in the meninges in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent pilot study. While inflammation in the meninges, the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, is thought to be driven…
A 20-week talk therapy program led to significant reductions in fatigue for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) — benefits that were sustained to the end of the year-long trial regardless of whether patients participated in additional booster sessions. Such sessions were offered two and four months after the end…
Treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine) over two years significantly improved physical and mental health aspects of quality of life in people with highly active relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a final analysis of data from the Phase 4 CLARIFY-MS study. Mavenclad is an oral medication approved for people with…
The Phase 3 EVOLUTION clinical trials have failed to demonstrate that evobrutinib is more effective than the approved medication Aubagio (teriflunomide) at preventing disease flares in people with relapsing types of multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings, which were shared by the drug’s developer Merck KGaA (known…
EBV-001, a vaccine candidate being developed by EBViously to target the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), triggered the production of potent antibodies against the virus in mice, and blood samples from these animals prevented EBV infection in lab-grown human cells. That’s according to new data presented by the company, which is…
Adhering to an aerobic exercise program of moderate to intense cycling for 12 weeks significantly eased pain and fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), allowing them to be more active in daily life, a small pilot clinical trial found. Results were similar for patients in the trial’s forced…
Nearly two years of treatment with Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) significantly reduced relapse rates by more than 80% in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to the final published details of the EVOLVE-MS-1 clinical trial. MRI scans also showed the number of active inflammatory lesions and new…
ATA188, an experimental cell therapy targeting the Epstein-Barr virus, failed to outperform a placebo at easing disability levels in people with nonactive progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from the Phase 2 portion of the EMBOLD clinical trial. The medication also showed no signs of…
A stem cell transplant was found to be better than Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for lowering disease activity and slowing disability worsening in people with highly active relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a small study in Lithuania showed. While both treatments were similarly effective in the first couple of…
Treatment with tolebrutinib for up to nearly three years was tied to low relapse rates, stable disability, and few new brain lesions among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from the long-term safety (LTS) extension of a Phase 2b trial. The data…
A personalized dosing schedule for Tysabri (natalizumab) that aims to maintain blood levels of the drug above a certain threshold seems to be just as effective for controlling disease activity in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) as the approved every-four-week dosing schedule. That’s according to interim data from an…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who switch between more than two disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) have a higher risk of relapses compared with those who never switch, regardless of how well these patients adhere to their prescribed medications, according to real-world study in Canada. These findings are consistent with…
Nearly three-quarters of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) showed no signs of disease activity five years after receiving a stem cell transplant, according to a recent Swedish study. Moreover, about half of patients with at least minimal disability saw improvements after the transplant and about one-third remained stable.
The rate of brain atrophy, or volume loss, may help in determining whether disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are slowing disability progression in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a review of data from 12 published studies found. The analysis, “Brain Atrophy as an Outcome of Disease-Modifying Therapy for…
Certain COVID-19 vaccines do not appear to worsen the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and may provide protection for at least six months after a booster dose, according to a study in Spain. The study specifically examined mRNA vaccines, or those that use a piece of RNA to teach…
FSD Pharma’s Lucid-21-302 — an oral treatment candidate known as Lucid-MS, for all types of multiple sclerosis (MS) — was found safe and well tolerated across multiple doses in healthy volunteers, according to interim data from a Phase 1 clinical trial. The newly released data are from the…
Taking supplements of the sugar molecule N-acetylglucosamine, known as GlcNAc, was found to decrease markers of inflammation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a small clinical trial. Moreover, nearly a third of trial participants reported less severe disability following a month of daily GlcNAc supplements. However, because this…
Tysabri (natalizumab) significantly reduced the development of brain lesions on MRI scans in Japanese people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a new study. The therapy also eased or stabilized disability levels in most patients after five years of treatment, and significantly reduced the annual rate of…
Note: This story was updated Sept. 15, 2023, to clarify ANK-700 was developed based on the preclinical work described in the study. An “inverse vaccine” that’s designed to teach the immune system not to attack a specific target, effectively reduced disease activity in mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS),…
A new statistical method could help to more accurately capture changes in disability severity for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and monitor the impact of MS treatments. “With the use of this new statistical methodology, it is possible to estimate the time to improvement as well as the…
ASH41020, an investigational therapy from Ashvattha Therapeutics, significantly reduced disease severity and exhibited immunomodulatory properties in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent presentation. Evidence indicated the therapy works by shifting the balance of immune cells called macrophages toward a less inflammatory and more…