I was sitting in an introductory biology class during the second semester of my freshman year in high school when things started going downhill. The teacher was presenting a lesson about the functions of plants, or something in that realm that I don’t remember. I sat in the back row,…

Is there something you now have that you once hoped and prayed for? I’ve been struggling with the demands of a new job for the past few weeks. As a virtual dietitian, I heavily rely on computers to meet with clients and do other necessary work. But staring at a…

What was your first MS symptom? Mine — the one that made me realize something was really wrong — was my inability to squeeze the toothpaste tube with my left hand one morning. Of course, there were earlier hints of trouble. I was unusually tired while attending a business…

NurOwn cell therapy led to significant improvements in the physical abilities, vision, and cognition of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Phase 2 clinical trial, top-line data show. In addition to these positive efficacy results, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, NurOwn’s developer, announced that its cell-based therapy showed…

Connectivity between parts of the brain related to vision and attention is altered in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), both during rest and while actively engaged in a task, a new study indicates. The study, “Altered brain network function during attention-modulated visual processing in multiple…

Tysabri (natalizumab) is superior to other disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) at improving balance and vision, easing bladder problems and sexual dysfunction, and alleviating anxiety in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from an Australian study. The study’s findings were presented at…

An investigational therapy that uses nanocrystals of gold to help the brain repair itself represents a breakthrough in the multiple sclerosis (MS) field, says Clene Nanomedicine‘s chief medical officer Robert Glanzman. Glanzman, MD, recently presented promising results at the ACTRIMS Forum 2020 indicating that Clene’s lead…

Clene Nanomedicine shared early results of the VISIONARY-MS trial, suggesting that CNM-Au8 —  an investigational remyelinating therapy — leads to “notable” trends in better vision, as well as benefits in mobility and manual function in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with chronic vision problems.

Ocrevus improved vision among relapsing multiple sclerosis patients who participated in the Phase 3 clinical trials of the treatment, according to updated analyses recently presented at the ACTRIMS Forum 2018. While Ocrevus-treated patients improved their ability to read low-contrast letters over the course of the two trials, people who received Rebif (interferon beta-1a) did not. Laura J. Balcer, a neurologist at New York University Langone Medical Center, shared the data in a presentation titled, “Effect of Ocrelizumab on Visual Outcomes in Patients with Baseline Visual Impairment in the OPERA Studies in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis.” Balcer had earlier shared data on the visual outcomes of relapsing patients in the OPERA I and OPERA II Phase 3 clinical trials of Ocrevus at the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting in Paris, last year. The two studies — sponsored by Ocrevus developer Genentech, a member of the Roche group —  compared Ocrevus and Rebif in patients with relapsing MS. This time, her presentation focused only on patients who had visual impairment when they enrolled in the trials. Among a total of 1,656 participants, 375 of those treated with Ocrevus and 373 in the Rebif group had visual impairment. Researchers tested vision using a low-contrast letter acuity test. The test is similar to an ordinary vision test, with letters of different sizes on a chart. But the low-contrast test uses gray letters — instead of black — on a white background. Researchers included charts with two shades of gray to test different contrast levels. These tests can detect reduced visual function. At the beginning of the trials, both groups performed in a similar manner — correctly identifying about 35 letters on a chart with somewhat higher contrast. After 96 weeks, those receiving Ocrevus identified on average 3.4 more letters, while Rebif-treated patients worsened by 0.5 letters — a significant difference, Balcer said. Researchers tested vision every 12 weeks. At the end of the trials, they found that 39 percent more patients in the Ocrevus groups had a cumulative improvement of at least 10 letters, compared to those treated with Rebif. At this time, 26.4 percent of Ocrevus-treated patients improved 10 letters or more, compared to 19.8 percent in the Rebif group. The difference between the groups for at least seven letters was 54 percent, with Ocrevus-treated patients performing better. Researchers believe that a seven-letter change is the minimal clinically important difference for the test. Based on the results, researchers believe that the findings demonstrate Ocrevus’ ability to reverse visual impairment in relapsing MS. The ACTRIMS Forum 2018 is being held in San Diego, California, Feb. 1–3.

Tailored molecular treatments for specific disabilities may be a breakthrough for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, finds a new study by researchers at University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA). The study, “Cell-specific and region-specific transcriptomics in the multiple sclerosis model: Focus on astrocytes,” appeared in the journal Proceedings…

Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) improved the vision of people with relapsing multiple sclerosis better than the widely used therapy interferon beta-1a, according to clinical trial findings presented at the 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting in Paris. Dr. Laura Balcer of the department of neurology at New York University made the presentation, titled “Effect…

Scientists have been trying to find a way to restore a protective covering around nerve cells whose loss leads to the neuron damage associated with multiple sclerosis. A team at the University of California, San Francisco may have found a way to do it. And perhaps surprisingly, the possible solution…

I was watching my son’s baseball game in the early 1990s when suddenly, my left eye went blurry and blocked my vision. It was a startling incident that lasted about two hours, and then it was gone. That was my introduction into the unpredictable world of multiple sclerosis…

Optic neuritis is one of the symptoms of which those of us who live with multiple sclerosis on a daily basis know can set us apart from others. We are fully, and often painfully, aware that everyone is different. We all experience a different array of symptoms to similarly different…