Atara Biotherapeutics now is planning to announce in November the one-year data from its EMBOLD Phase 1/2 study, which is testing the company’s experimental treatment ATA188 for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The results, originally expected in October, will cover the trial’s primary endpoint of…
Trial results
Researchers have developed a vaccine against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) — a leading environmental risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS) — that induced durable immune responses in mice. If it’s moved to the clinic, the vaccine could help prevent infections that drive MS and certain cancers, according to…
More daily physical activity, better physical condition, and lower disability were all associated with less fatigue for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a clinical trial in Finland. “The findings are interesting and support previous studies very well,” Marko Luostarinen, a doctoral researcher at the University of…
Treatment with Mavenclad (cladribine), an approved short-course oral therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), significantly reduced patients’ relapse rates and the development of new lesions while keeping disability stable over two years, according to a real-world study in Kuwait. Among patients who completed the two courses…
Mavenclad (cladribine) is equally as effective as Gilenya (fingolimod) in reducing relapse rates among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with highly active disease, according to a new real-world comparison. Disability worsening and the development of new lesions also were similar between the two patient groups — but…
Nearly 80% of adults with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were free of relapses or confirmed disability worsening two years after receiving stem cell transplant, according to a real-world study in Denmark. Moreover, more than two-thirds (69%) of these RRMS patients achieved a clinical outcome called NEDA-3, or…
Microparticles that activate regulatory T-cells, or Tregs, an immune cell type with anti-inflammatory properties, reversed the accumulation of physical disability due to multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative disorder, a new study shows. Use of the novel strategy even cured some of the animals. “We…
Frexalimab, an experimental anti-CD40L antibody therapy from Sanofi, significantly reduced the number of new brain lesions with active inflammation in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new Phase 2 clinical trial data. Sanofi believes its second-generation CD40L blocker will effectively control immune activity in…
Stem cell therapy is better than Gilenya (fingolimod) or Tysabri (natalizumab) at reducing relapse rates and easing disability for people with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new analysis suggests. In contrast, findings suggest that the efficacy of stem cell therapy is not significantly different…
Genentech‘s investigational BTK inhibitor fenebrutinib significantly reduced the number of new brain lesions and showed no new safety concerns in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s according to new data from the company’s Phase 2 FENopta clinical trial (NCT05119569), which is evaluating fenebrutinib’s…
Modified nanocapsules containing retinoic acid can suppress inflammation and prompt the growth of cells that produce nerve fibers’ myelin coating, which is lost in multiple sclerosis (MS), a cell-based study shows. The results demonstrated how lipid (fat) nanocapsules that contain medicines can access the brain and treat the two…
Attaching a kind of molecule backpack to myeloid cells — a type of immune cells involved in the inflammatory attack that drives multiple sclerosis (MS) — may help to halt inflammation and damage in the brain in MS by modulating immune cell activity, a study…
There was no evidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity for at least two years in patients who underwent an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) at a center in Mexico. And by the most recent follow-up — a median of about seven years after the procedure —…
More than 90% of Black and Hispanic patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) in a Phase 4 clinical trial experienced no new relapse activity or sustained disability worsening after nearly one year, according to an interim analysis. However, more than half of these patients experienced…
Treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) significantly reduces the risk that adults with radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) will develop symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), new clinical trial data show. This is the second trial showing that approved disease-modifying therapies can delay the development of MS in people who have…
About 2.5 years of treatment with tolebrutinib was associated with low relapse rates and stable disability levels among people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data in an ongoing, open-label extension of a Phase 2b trial. The oral treatment also continued to show a “favorable”…
Supplements with tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) were generally well tolerated among people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to findings from a small clinical trial. Results also showed that patients given TUDCA supplements had lower levels of certain inflammatory immune cells than those given a placebo, but no…
OCH, a molecule designed to have beneficial effects on immune regulation in multiple sclerosis (MS), led to increases in regulatory immune cell subsets and immunomodulatory gene activity in healthy volunteers and MS patients. That’s according to data from a first-in-human study of the compound, which also found the immune…
The world’s first mega-trial is recruiting people in the U.K. with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) to investigate the effectiveness of several approved therapies — at the same time. Named Octopus for its various arms, the study, which is expected to enroll at least 1,200 participants over…
Real-world use of nabiximols, an oral spray cannabinoid treatment, was associated with a self-reported easing of spasticity and related symptoms for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent study in Austria. Most patients (87.5%) said they were at least partly satisfied with the therapy — available…
Treatment with InnoCare Pharma’s orelabrutinib — an experimental inhibitor of the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) enzyme — led to significant reductions in new active brain lesions among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). That’s according to the results of a 12-week interim analysis of a global Phase 2…
Treatment with the experimental oral therapy ibudilast (MN-166) does not significantly improve quality-of-life measures compared with a placebo among people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. Analyses from the trial suggest that a marker of nerve damage…
Treatment with the experimental oral suspension therapy CNM-Au8 led to improvements in measures of vision, cognitive and motor function, and brain health for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from the proof-of-concept VISIONARY-MS trial. Bolstered by these positive results, Clene Nanomedicine is planning to launch a…
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is a safe and effective treatment for patients under 18 with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a small study from Turkey suggests. Over about 2.5 years of the treatment, these pediatric patients experienced no relapses or MRI activity, and their disability level also improved, indicating…
The signaling protein fractalkine was found to promote the repair of myelin — the protecting coating around nerve fibers — that is damaged by the mistaken immune attack that leads to multiple sclerosis (MS), a mouse study demonstrated. In an animal model of the disease, the molecule…
Uses of virtual reality-based physiotherapy to improve balance and gait in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are linked to lower dropout rates than those found with conventional rehabilitation methods, a review of clinical trials suggested. Although the difference between the two physiotherapy approaches was not statistically significant, adherence to…
A second person with non-active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) treated with foralumab nasal spray in a single-patient access program is continuing to show improvements 11 months after starting the therapy, according to an update from foralumab’s developer, Tiziana Life Sciences. The patient, dubbed EA2, experienced a…
A stem cell transplant more effectively slowed disability worsening in people with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) than anti-inflammatory treatments and disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), a study has found. More transplant recipients also experienced clinical improvements that were sustained after three and five years. After 10 years,…
Continuous treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) for more than two years did not slow clinical and radiological measures of disease progression in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) compared with patients who started treatment after one year. In fact, most PPMS patients remained stable with or without…
Daily exposure to 30 minutes of bright light for two weeks led to clinically significant reductions in fatigue scores among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a small clinical trial. “The findings from our study represent a promising non-drug therapeutic approach,” Stefan Seidel, PhD, co-author of the study…