Multiple Sclerosis

A comparative effectiveness study of real-world data from patients with multiple sclerosis showed that dimethyl fumarate and fingolimod were equivalent and rituximab was superior to natalizumab for reducing relapse.

The FDA approved a new intramuscular injection route of administration for Plegridy (peginterferon beta-1a) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

Clinicians and patients should consider the immune-modulating effects of various disease-modifying therapies and their implications for COVID-19 susceptibility and vaccine-generated immune response.

Researchers report on a case of a patient with severe COVID-19 infection who subsequently developed optic nerve inflammation and demyelinating lesions in the central nervous system.

Orlando, FL—A growing body of evidence supports vitamin D as a dietary factor associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). The question remains, however, whether low serum levels of vitamin D may predispose patients to MS, or whether low levels are a part of the disease, and whether supplementation is really protective. Regardless, the data are suggestive enough to make vitamin D supplementation part of MS management, according to Ellen Mowry, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, who discussed the topic at the 2017 Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis meeting.

New Orleans, LA— The oral investigational agent ozanimod, which is from the same drug class as fingolimod (Gilenya), may be as effective as fingolimod, with fewer safety concerns, for the treatment of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), reported Brett E. Skolnick, PhD, Receptos, San Diego, CA, at the 2017 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers annual meeting. Dr Skolnick stepped in for the lead investigator Giancarlo Comi, MD, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Neurology, Milan, Italy, who was unable to attend the meeting.

New Orleans, LA—Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) often spend a lifetime using disease-modifying therapy (DMT). Some experts are now wondering whether some of these patients can discontinue treatment without increasing the risk for disease relapse.

Despite improvements in radiographic diagnostic techniques, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common problem that can lead to treatment-related and psychosocial morbidity.

A recent study investigated the effects of alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) on disability measures in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).