A clinical trial is now recruiting participants to test whether an experimental vaccine for the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is safe and may help reduce disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Phase 2 study (NCT06735248) aims to enroll 180 adults, ages 18 to 55, with…
vaccine
I recently got my yearly influenza vaccine, which protects against the flu. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “In an average year, thousands of people in the United States die from flu, and many more are hospitalized. Flu vaccine prevents millions of illnesses and…
The use of B-cell depleting therapies does not increase the risk of an infection with COVID-19 among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have been vaccinated, according to the findings of a new study by U.S. researchers. While such treatments did compromise the body’s ability to develop antibodies against…
New diagnostic criteria and biomarkers, how to manage MS in older patients and children, and vaccine recommendations are among topics covered in a new set of guidelines for best practices in multiple sclerosis (MS) care. The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, a network of more than 15,000 clinicians…
A Phase 1 clinical trial that is investigating a new vaccine against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a well-established risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS), in healthy volunteers has dosed its first participant. The vaccine, called MDX2201, is being developed by Modex Therapeutics, an Opko Health company,…
Vaccination does not increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in children and adolescents within five years, a study found. Instead, there was a trend toward a lower risk of pediatric-onset MS in vaccinated children. This in line with earlier findings that vaccination is not a risk factor for…
Well, it’s that time of the year again: flu season. I guess you could say it’s COVID-19 season, too, though confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 started increasing in late June here in Kansas City, Missouri, and continued to rise at least through August. Detection of COVID-19 through wastewater…
Having antibodies against the rubella virus is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in unvaccinated people, a Swedish study suggests. The findings show a rubella infection may be a risk factor for MS, reinforcing the hypothesis that certain viral infections may trigger the misleading immune…
Two inverse vaccines from Nykode Therapeutics — developed to teach the immune system not to respond against its own body — worked to reduce disease severity in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), new data show. This adds to earlier findings that the company’s experimental approach and…
An inverse vaccine developed by Nykode Therapeutics to boost immune system tolerance to a specific protein target was able to prevent the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in a mouse model of the disease. The vaccine, known as a Vaccibody, is designed to teach the immune system to…
Getting the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine to protect against tuberculosis (TB) or having latent (inactive) TB in young adulthood aren’t linked to the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a Norwegian study found. The study, “BCG vaccination and multiple sclerosis risk: A Norwegian cohort study,” was published in…
Using antibodies against a viral protein that’s needed for the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to invade human cells was found to successfully prevent viral infections and EBV-associated cancer in mice in a new study. By identifying sites where these antibodies bind to the viral protein — called gp42 — researchers…
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…
Using a vaccine against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to prevent the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) is highly likely to be cost-effective, especially when given in early adolescence, according to an Australian modeling study. “The evidence from this study highlights the urgent need for the development of an EBV…
My wife and I got the latest COVID-19 vaccine the other day, the first of three vaccines we’ll be getting this fall. The others are the seasonal flu vaccine and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. This was my sixth COVID-19 vaccine, and I’ve received a…
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…
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Vaccines pose no unusual risk of MS hospitalization, study says It’s time for me to get my seasonal flu shot,…
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),…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who receive vaccines against influenza — commonly known as flu shots — as well as diphtheria, polio, pneumoccocus, and multiple other pathogens are not significantly more likely to be hospitalized due to a disease relapse, according to a new study in France. Similar…
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Is it MS or something else? Should all autoimmune diseases that damage myelin be called MS? Probably not, according…
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…
It’s been almost two and a half years since my first COVID-19 vaccine — eight months since my most recent booster — and my COVID-19 antibodies seem to still be doing their thing. I know this because, after having nine test tubes of blood drawn, the lab results…
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: MS experts offer more than 50 vaccine guidelines I know there are different opinions about vaccines, and I’ve…
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) should generally follow a regular vaccination schedule similar to their healthy peers, with certain adjustments made if they’re on particular disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), according to a group of experts in Europe who devised a set of more than 50 evidence-based guidelines for the…
Since the early days of the COVID-19 vaccination program, disinformation claiming that the vaccines can induce multiple sclerosis (MS) has swirled around social media. Recently, there’s been a resurgence of this type of post, sparked by a report published on the World Health Organization (WHO) website titled “…
Those with multiple sclerosis (MS) may want to roll up their sleeves again for a COVID-19 vaccine. I’m thinking about whether to join them. About 10 days ago, an advisory committee of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supported a recommendation that people 65…
Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: EBV vaccine trial could start in 2024 The MS News Today story “Vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus…
EBViously announced that it has developed a candidate vaccine against the Epstein-Barr virus and plans to bring it into clinical trials starting in 2024. The company is a spinoff of Helmholtz Munich, part of a German government research network. It is led by scientists with expertise in EBV…
Infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 significantly accelerates neurological disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), at least in the first months after infection, a study from Belgium reported. A more severe case of COVID-19, one requiring hospitalization, also significantly associated with a faster worsening of MS…
A new collaboration between ModeX Therapeutics and Merck, known as MSD outside North America, is expected to advance the development of ModeX’s MDX-2201, an investigational vaccine targeting the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). A history of infection with EBV — known for causing infectious mononucleosis, or mono, and certain…