January 11, 2018 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Newly Diagnosed MS Patients Stay Longer on Rituxan Than Other Therapies, Study Finds Multiple sclerosis patients whose first treatment is Genentech'sĀ Rituxan (rituximab) stay on it longer than other disease-modifying drugs that patients start with, a Swedish study reports. When they stop taking Rituxan, Ā it usually isn't for lack of effectiveness or side effects...
December 28, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Zinbryta Fails to Prevent RRMS from Worsening After Patient Gets Off Tysabri, Case Study Shows Zinbryta (daclizumab) may not be the best follow-up therapy for relapsingāremitting multiple sclerosis patients who stop taking Tysabri (natalizumab) for safety reasons, a case study suggests. An article on the 25-year-old patient’s case, titled āDisease reactivation after switching from natalizumab to daclizumab,ā was published in…
December 15, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Ocrevus’ Use Continues Rising, with RRMS Patients Receiving the Most Attention U.S. neurologists are increasingly prescribing Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) to their multiple sclerosis patients, Spherix Global InsightsĀ reports. Another good sign for Genentech is that, in just three months, neurologists have increased by 50 percent their estimate of the numbers of relapsing-remitting MS patients who could benefit from Ocrevus.
November 21, 2017 News by Larry Luxner Patients Tell Their Stories in Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers’ Online Videos Maryland special education teacher Ingrid Hanson says that since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis five years ago, sheās developed a better understanding of her students’ needs and the importance of teamwork. Flavia Nelson helps treat MS in the Hispanic community in Houston. Flavia Nelson, an MS specialist at…
October 27, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 ā Early High-Efficacy Treatment Reduces Disability Accumulation in Young MS Patients While early use of high-efficacy treatments lowers relapse rates among patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to lower-efficacy ones, starting these therapies earlier may only impact the accumulation of disability among young patients, according to data presented at the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting in Paris, France. Earlier treatment…
October 27, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – Researchers Suggest Best Time to Stop Tysabri During Pregnancy Babies born to women who are treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) during pregnancy are more likely to develop abnormal blood cell counts if the treatment continues beyond week 30 of pregnancy. Since more relapses occurred in women who quit the treatment before this time, researchers from the Ludwig Maximilian University…
October 26, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – Tysabri Did Improve Walking and Hand Function in Failed SPMS Trial, Researchers Say While Tysabri (natalizumab) failed to slow worsening disability in people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) in a Phase 3 trial, researchers now suggest that the treatment did improve walking and arm function in people with advanced disability. Researchers presented new analyses of data from the ASCEND trial (…
October 26, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #MSParis2017 – Lemtrada and Tysabri More Efficient Than Older Injectables in Preventing SPMS Onset, Study Finds Sanofi Genzyme‘s Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Biogen’s Tysabri (natalizumab) are more effective in preventing conversion to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) compared to older injectable drugs, researchers from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. reported at the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS MeetingĀ Oct. 25-28 in Paris. The…
August 31, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Tecfidera Shows Promise as Replacement MS Therapy for Tysabri, Study Shows Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) can be a suitable replacement therapy whenĀ Tysabri (natalizumab) is discontinued, keeping low levels of disease activity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a report published in theĀ Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness and…
August 7, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye This Week: Resistance Training, Tysabri Report, Cognigram, and Depression Resistance Training Can Slow MS Patientsā Brain Shrinkage, Clinical Trial Indicates Over the years, studies have shown the benefits of various types of exercise in improving MS symptoms. But here,Ā Alice MelĆ£o reports about a small…
August 1, 2017 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Long-term Tysabri Treatment Improved Quality of Life and Satisfaction with Therapy in Relapsing MS Patients, Study Finds Long-term Tysabri (natalizumab) treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) improves physical and mental health and leads to greater satisfaction with therapy, new research shows. The study, āLong-term natalizumab treatment is associated with sustained improvements in quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis,ā appeared in the journal…
July 6, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Ocrevus and Me Iāve done it! I made the treatment switch that so many people with multiple sclerosis are talking about: I said goodbye to Tysabri (natalizumab) and am now on Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) as my disease-modifying therapy (DMT). I went through 56 monthly infusions (or maybe more, I’ve…
June 30, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Link Between MS Therapy Tysabri and Melanoma Possible, an Adverse Reactions Watchdog Group Says The multiple sclerosis therapy Tysabri could trigger melanoma, the Southern Network on Adverse Reactions (SONAR) has warned. Although its investigation failed to demonstrate that melanoma is more common among Tysabri-treated MS patients than in the general population, unusual features among the patients raise concerns about a possible link, the organization said. Contending that current monitoring efforts are inadequate, it suggested improvements that could generate a better understanding of the relationship between Tysabri treatment and cancer. The organization's report, published in the journal Cancer Medicine, was titled āMelanoma complicating treatment with natalizumab for multiple sclerosis: A report from the Southern Network on Adverse Reactions, also known as SONAR." SONAR is an organization that was formed in the Southern United States in 2010 to investigate adverse drug reactions that regulators might not be aware of. Its goal is to reduce the time it takes between detecting an adverse reaction and have regulators act on it. A case that a SONAR investigator came across led to the group investigating possible links between Tysabri and melanoma. A 43-year-old woman developed melanoma in her urethra, the tubing that drains urine from the bladder, after being treated with Tysabri for about two years. Melanoma is most often a skin cancer that is related to sun exposure, but the woman had no skin lesions. After extensive surgery, she relapsed and died when the cancer spread to other parts of her body. She had declined anti-cancer treatment. The case prompt SONAR to look for similar cases. Its investigators found seven studies that involved Tysabri-treated MS patients developing melanoma. In addition, they looked through the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationās Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and the Tysabri Safety Surveillance Program. The surveillance program is part of the Tysabri Outcomes Unified Commitment to Health (TOUCH) database run by Tysabri's developer, Biogen, The research team found 137 cases in the FAERS database through April 1, 2014. The patients' average age was 45. Seventeen percent of the group developed tumors in locations not exposed to the sun, and nine died. The researchers said the database contained only about half the information it should have, such as tumor site, patients' family history of cancer, and earlier immunosuppressive treatment. Fifteen percent of the cases in the FAERS database were based entirely on information from the TOUCH database. Seventy-three percent were cases initially reported to FAERS but with TOUCH information added. Thirteen percent of the FAERS cases contained no additional information. Importantly, there was even less patient information in the TOUCH database than in the FAERS database. Out of eight items researchers believe a database should contain, TOUCH had information on two, on average. āThe existence of the TOUCH Safety Surveillance Program, an FDA-mandated program, did not improve melanoma reporting,ā the team wrote. This shortage of data stymies research into possible links between Tysabri treatment and melanoma, the researchers said. As an example, although the death rates in the databases were low, there was no information about survival in many cases, which could lead to flawed survival estimates. The investigation noted that patients received a wide range of Tysabri doses before they were diagnosed with melanoma. While some received only one or a few injections, others had been treated for a long time. These observations do not seem to support a link between Tysabri and melanoma, the team said. āA longer therapy duration would be expected if natalizumab caused melanoma via an immunologic pathway, unless existing nevi [lesions of the skin or mucus tissue] were already premalignant lesions,ā the researchers wrote. But other information the team found seemed to suggest a Tysabri-melanoma link. For example, the average age of melanoma patients was much lower than that reported in the National Cancer Instituteās Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. The average age in the institute's database is 63, compared with 45 in the FAERS database and 41 in cases in academic journals. In addition, many patients developed tumors in unusual places not exposed to sunlight. Finally, the low melanoma death rate in Tysabri-treated patients differed from that seen in the general population. All these factors suggest that melanoma after Tysabri treatment could differ from other types of melanoma, the researchers argued. While the molecular workings of Tysabri might promote melanoma growth, studies so far have not found a relationship between the drug and this cancer. In fact, some studies suggest that MS patients, in general, have a lower risk of melanoma than others. The team said more information on patients could give researchers a better understanding of the potential relationship between Tysabri and melanoma. The implication was that the standard of reporting in the FAERS and TOUCH databases could improve. To minimize the risk of patients who receive Tysabri developing melanoma, the researchers offered a number of suggestions for IV centers, physicians, patients, and educational programs. For instance, they suggested that all patients should have a skin examination before the start of treatment, and regular physical and skin exams while receiving Tysabri. While noting that risk of infection and the development of tumors can occur with all immunosuppressive treatments, the team said more studies are needed to explore the risk of Tysabri-treated patients developing melanoma.
June 27, 2017 News by admin Tysabri Shows Long-term Safety, Efficacy in Japanese RRMS Patients, Study Shows A recentĀ study has found Tysabri (natalizumab) treatment for two years to beĀ efficient and safe in Japanese patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The study, āSafety and Efficacy of Natalizumab in Japanese Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Open-Label Extension Study of a Phase 2 Trial,ā appearedĀ in the journal…
June 26, 2017 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD RRMS Patients at Risk of PML Can Safely Switch from Tysabri to Lemtrada Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) may be an effective option for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients withdrawing from prior treatment with Tysabri (natalizumab), an Italian study shows. The study, āHigh-Risk PML Patients Switching from Natalizumab to Alemtuzumab: an Observational Study,ā appeared in the journal Neurology and Therapy. Tysabri, an antibody with…
May 30, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: A New Study about Lemtrada, An Easy Way to Improve Balance, A New PML Case Reported and Kudos to Us Relapse after First Lemtrada Course No Indication of Poor Long-Term Outcome, Study Finds Some MS patients being treated with Lemtrada report new exacerbation after they complete round one of the drug, and they wonder if this means the drug isn’t working.
May 26, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #CMSC17 – Tysabri Improves Mental Outlook for Patients with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Long-term therapy with Tysabri (natalizumab) significantly improved the mental state of people withĀ secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), according to results of a Biogen-supported study with patients taking the drugĀ for almost two years. Biogen presented the study,Ā āThe Impact of Natalizumab on Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Secondary Progressive…
May 25, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD PML Found in Ocrevus-Treated Patient Who Had Used Tysabri for 3 Previous Years A multiple sclerosis (MS) patient treated in Germany withĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab)Ā has developed the dreaded brain infection progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).Ā But it is not clear whether the recently approvedĀ Genentech/Roche-developed treatmentĀ is the cause. The patient took the last dose of a three-year course of Tysabri (natalizumab)Ā in February. Tysabri is…
April 25, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Latest Tecfidera and Tysabri Data Suggest Treatments Improve MS Outcomes When Used Early Real-world data of treatment with Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) and Tysabri (natalizumab) in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients suggest that treatment at early disease stages improves outcomes and prevents disability development. The studies, presented by Biogen at the American Academy of Neurology 2017 Annual MeetingĀ in Boston, might challenge the…
April 21, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Decisions to Stop Taking Tysabri for MS Are Often Subjective, Study Concludes Many decisions to stop taking the multiple sclerosis treatmentĀ Tysabri (natalizumab)Ā appear to be based largely on subjective factors such as patients’ or physicians’ view of the risk, rather thanĀ objective assessments of the risk, a study indicates. TysabriĀ is an approved immunotherapy for active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Despite its benefits, there…
April 20, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Early Use of Tecfidera and Tysabri Improves MS Patients’ Outcomes, Studies Suggest The latest results on Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) and TysabriĀ (natalizumab) use in a clinical practice setting suggest that early treatment can improve outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. This and other recent dataĀ on Tecfidera and Tysabri for the treatment of MS will be presented by BiogenĀ at the…
January 19, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Reports on MS Treatment Market Show Growing Shift to Oral Therapies The multiple sclerosis (MS) market shiftedĀ during 2016, with oral disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) capturing a greater share and Sanofi-Genzyme’s Aubagio (teriflunomide) being poised for growth, according to a press releaseĀ fromĀ Spherix Global Insights. The conclusions were included in the company’sĀ āRealTime Dynamix: Multiple Sclerosis,ā a quarterly report based…
January 16, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Early Detection of PML May Lessen Damage Done to MS Patients Using Tysabri Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) is linked to better outcomes if the condition does not give rise to actual symptoms and is diagnosed early. Limited brain lesions and moreĀ protective immune responses were also seen in patients who fared better, but researchers…
November 14, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Availability of MS Therapies Provides ‘Peace of Mind’ Value to Society, Study Finds Chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) not only impact patients, they also inspire fear among healthy people who may be at risk of the disease. In a new study, researchers found that the availability of multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies provides āpeace of mindā value to currently healthy individuals, particularly when…
October 6, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Tysabri May Be More Effective Than Gilenya at Reducing Disease Activity in MS Patients, Study Says An indirect comparison of results from randomized clinical trials in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients suggests that Tysabri (natalizumab) is more effective than Gilenya (fingolimod) at reducing disease activity. The study, āThe Efficacy of Natalizumab versus Fingolimod for Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review, Indirect…
September 26, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News: Most Effective, Brain MRIs, Vit D3, Lipoic Acid, Modeling Hereās my Pick of this Weekās News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. This week is a rather special one because itĀ spotlights the work done by our news team in following and reporting the major events at ECTRIMS 2016. Here, I set out my choice of what I…
September 20, 2016 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Lemtrada and Tysabri Seen as Most Effective Therapies for MS in 5-Year Study A five-year study comparing theĀ efficacy of different treatments for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) foundĀ that, in general, Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Tysabri (natalizumab) are more effective asĀ therapies than Gilenya (fingolimod) and interferon Ī². StudyĀ results were presentedĀ in an oral presentation, āComparison of 5-year treatment outcomes between alemtuzumab versus natalizumab, fingolimod and interferon Ī²-1a,ā…
September 12, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Biogen to Unveil Study into Economic and Human Costs of MS At theĀ European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2016 Congress, taking placeĀ inĀ London on Sept. 14ā17, Biogen will present the Multiple Sclerosis Cost of Illness study, based on research intoĀ more than 16,000 MS patients throughout Europe. The study builds on data from a leading 2005 study that…
August 9, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Tysabri’s Success in Impairing the Immune System in RRMS May Be Source of Its Problems Although Tysabri (natalizumab) is a highly effective in treatingĀ patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), some may developĀ progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). According to a new study,Ā this occurs because TysabriĀ impairs immune surveillance in the central nervous system and reactivates the latentĀ John Cunningham polyomavirus (JCV). The study, “Natalizumab Affects…
August 8, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Best First-Line Treatment for Aggressive MS May Be Equally Aggressive Immunotherapies Patients with aggressive onset multiple sclerosis, characterized by a rapidly progressing disease course and accumulation of disability, may benefit from early aggressive therapies instead of the escalation approach commonly givenĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to researchers atĀ Weill-Cornell Medical College. Their article, titledĀ “A study of patients with…