Multiple Sclerosis

As patients cycle between treatments for multiple sclerosis, there can be questions about how they will react to the various medications after switching. Comparing alemtuzumab and natalizumab provided doctors with at least some insight into this question.

Over the course of a patients lifetime they will likely shift between various multiple sclerosis treatments. A recent study compared some of the more popular options on a variety of levels.

Bryan Bickell, a three-time Stanley Cup winner, has turned to former goalie Josh Harding for guidance on how his new diagnosis will impact his life and career. Harding continued to play in the league for two seasons following his own multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2012.

By applying a machine learning approach, scientists can now differentiate neuromyelitis optica from multiple sclerosis on magnetic resonance imaging scans of patients’ gray matter.

Alemtuzumab provided more benefits to patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who had poor response to other therapies than subcutaneous interferon-B-1a.

Curiouser and curiouser. Like Alice in Wonderland, when Alan Thompson, MD, first entered multiple sclerosis research, he was deeply puzzled. But he kept going deeper.

The common multiple sclerosis treatment, according to a study out of Duke, may do very little for as many as half of people with the disease. In a mouse model of MS, they identified different disease pathways in those resistant to the treatment, raising questions about the heterogeneity of MS.

Despite featuring a survey that produced interesting insight into how MS patients respond to their condition through dietary behaviors, researchers considered much of the existing research on the subject inefficient and thus had difficulty creating a program to educate patients.

Cortical lesions in MS have clinical relevance.

In MS patients with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, discontinuing natalizumab poses a risk of rebound. The warning comes from a case report.

This isn’t the first (or second, third, or even 100th) time you’ve heard about the benefits of running. Now, Canadian researchers are optimistic about the possibility that running may also be beneficial for neurodegenerative disorders, such as multiple sclerosis.

Direct current stimulation can improve certain reaction times in MS patients.

The authors assert that “there remains a need to identify inexpensive and non-toxic therapies that target the underlying pathophysiology of autoimmune disorders” and that “Blockade of the opioid growth factor (OGF)-OGF receptor (OGFr) pathway with low dose naltrexone (LDN) has been explored as one such therapy.”

The researchers report that “rituximab was relatively well tolerated," though complications were reported.

Scientists are working to identify factors that can accurately predict outcomes for patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). One study found “higher baseline brain volume predicted better long-term clinical outcomes, while larger increases in Expanded Disability Status Scale score during the first 24 months predicted worse outcomes."

Sudden hearing loss is a rare but real potential complication in multiple sclerosis.

Patients with multiple sclerosis have new ways to self-report outcome measures for sleep and sleepiness.

Patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who have T2 spinal cord (SC) lesions detected through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) early in the course of the disease are likely to have a worse prognosis, according to recent research.

People who have multiple sclerosis become less likely to take risks, for both clinical and demographic reasons, a study found.

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who want or need to measure their daily step-count may get the most accurate results with the waist-worn FitBit One, researchers found.

There are many ways of figuring out what stage of illness a patient with MS is experiencing and if relapse is likely. Researchers evaluated several.

There are many factors to consider when looking at the most effective treatment methods for multiple sclerosis. A new area researchers are looking at is ways to prevent brain volume loss beyond what most people experience over the course of their lives.

In six years since fingolimod was approved for the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis a considerable amount of data has been collected about the oral medication.

There has been plenty of research to show that rehabilitation can help with the cognitive function of patients with multiple sclerosis. A recent study looked at whether advanced imaging can determine whether some patients will respond better to the therapy than others.

Depending on the age of the children they are treating pediatricians have to find a good working relationship with parents while also maintaining the privacy of their patients.

In adult patients neuromyelitis optica is considered a rare enough condition. It is even more rare in children making the diagnosis and treatment a longer and more careful process.

Patients with MS may make better choices on treatments if they understand the basic statistical concept of confidence intervals, a team reports.

The likelihood that a participant in a randomized, controlled trial receives laquinimod or placebo to treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) could explain the differences in study results, according to recent research.

There are now more than a dozen medications approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis, a treatment pending approval for primary progressive, and very early signs of hope for secondary progressive. As a result there was plenty of optimism at ECTRIMS as it left London and prepared for Paris next year.

As Ocrelizumab moves its way through the approval process for patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, data has been released on a trial for a potential treatment for the secondary progressive form.