News on Multiple Sclerosis

FDA looking into death of patient on Novartis' Gilenya

2011-12-20T11:00:34Z

(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators said on Tuesday they received a report of a multiple sclerosis patient who died within 24 hours of taking the first dose of Novartis AG's Gilenya.

The U.S. Food and Drug...

Gilenya trial could ease safety worries

2011-12-14T23:30:13Z

ZURICH (Reuters) - A third late-stage trial of Novartis' multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya did not throw up any new safety issues with the pill, going some way to alleviating concerns about possible risks linked to the potential blockbuster.

The study results come just days after No...

Sanofi says Lemtrada helps MS patients in study

2011-10-22T00:30:05Z

PARIS (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi said on Saturday that its experimental multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada worked better than an older drug sold by competitor Merck KGaA at keeping patients free from relapses.

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Biogen MS trial data robust; shares jump

2011-10-21T09:30:18Z

(Reuters) - Full data from a late-stage clinical trial of Biogen Idec Inc's experimental multiple sclerosis drug, BG-12, showed robust results across multiple measures and revealed no new safety concerns.

The news sent the biotech company's shares soaring as much as 6.7 percent on Friday.

Earlier this year the company released initial ...

FDA extends review of Tysabri JC virus label

2011-10-20T07:30:24Z

(Reuters) - U.S. regulators have extended their review of Biogen Idec Inc's application to update the prescribing information for its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, the company said on Thursday.

Biogen, which sells the drug with Irish drugmaker Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding said a mid-phase study found its ocrelizumab drug maintained significant reduction in disease activity for multiple sclerosis patients for almost two years, boosting its chances of success in late-stage trials.

"The study showed that the significant re...

Medicine making strides in Las Vegas

2011-10-20T02:32:36Z

The New York Times beat us at our own story.

It is big news in Las Vegas when 2,000 to 3,000 residents who suffer from multiple sclerosis don't have a doctor or the ability to be treated in one of the largest metropolitan areas of the country. They haven't had a doctor who is an expert in MS for quite awhile - not since the only one in ...

Teens who work nights have 'double risk of MS'

2011-10-18T12:30:11Z

Working night shifts as a teenager is not only exhausting; it also significantly increases the chance of developing multiple sclerosis later in life, a Swedish study published Tuesday showed.

"Our analysis revealed a significant association between working (night) shifts at a young age and occurrence of MS," Anna Hedstroem, who headed the team of Karolinska Institute researchers, said ...

Blood vessel condition tied to MS, with caveats

2011-10-03T10:00:11Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new analysis of past studies concludes that there seems to be some link between multiple sclerosis and narrowed head and neck veins -- but more research is needed to be sure.

The report, funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is the...

Analysis: Biogen investors place bets ahead of MS drug trial

2011-09-16T07:00:33Z

BOSTON (Reuters) - Over the past year, Biogen Idec Inc has given investors little to complain about. The biotechnology company, operating under new management, has restructured its operations, reported promising clinical trial data and seen its shares rise 72 percent.

The question is: can it hang onto its gains?

Much depen...

No link between MS, narrow blood vessels: study

2011-08-08T14:30:26Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study provides more evidence that multiple sclerosis (MS) is not caused by a blood vessel condition, as some research has suggested.

The new findings follow a study last month in which Dr. Ellen Marder from the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center and her colleagues reviewed the current ...

UK cost watchdog says no to Novartis MS pill

2011-08-05T11:30:19Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Novartis's multiple sclerosis pill Gilenya, one of its biggest new drug hopes, has been rejected by Britain's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdo...

Drug cuts brain lesions in MS patients: Actelion study

2011-08-01T23:00:06Z

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss biotech company Actelion Ltd said on Tuesday a mid-stage study showed one of its drugs under development helped reduce new inflammatory brain lesions in a targeted group of multiple sclerosis patients.

The study found Actelion's Ponesimod drug, a selective S1P1 receptor agonist, achieved its primary trial goal...

Benefit of MS drugs comes at steep price: study

2011-07-21T12:30:15Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drugs used in the hope of slowing multiple sclerosis progression may help some patients, but at a very high cost, according to a study out Wednesday.

The medications in question are the so-called disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) that have been available since the 1990s to treat multiple sclerosis.

The drugs include beta interferons (brand-names like Reuters Health) - Despite a few well-publicized studies and many hopeful patients waiting for treatment, there is no good evidence that multiple sclerosis, or MS, is caused by a blood vessel condition, a fresh look at the medical literature finds.

That means patients with MS shouldn't have surgery to open veins that connect the brain and spinal cord to the heart, researchers say.

Stress doesn't raise risk of MS: study

2011-05-30T13:30:28Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having a stressful home or work environment doesn't make a person more likely to develop multiple sclerosis, hints a large new study.

Previous research has suggested that in people who already have the chronic disease -- which affects the brain and spinal cord -- stressful events make flare-ups more likely. In the new study, the authors looked at whether stress ra...

More evidence pregnancy is safe with MS

2011-04-07T13:30:18Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new research review strengthens the evidence that women with multiple sclerosis are about as likely as other women to have a healthy pregnancy -- without putting their own health at risk.

The findings, reported in the obstetrics journal BJOG, support the advice generally given to women with multiple sclerosis: If the condition is under control, you can safely be...

Marijuana may hasten mental decline in MS: study

2011-03-28T14:00:07Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although medical marijuana has been legalized in many U.S. states, people with multiple sclerosis should think twice before they start using the drug routinely, researchers say.

In a small study published Monday, they found people with the nerve-damaging autoimmune disease did worse on a number of psychological tests if they were heavy marijuana smoke...

Biogen reports four more Tysabri cases, one death

2010-12-17T12:00:39Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Four more patients taking Biogen Idec's multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri have developed the serious brain infection known as PML and one of them died, according to the biotechnology company's monthly update.

The four new confirmed cases of potentially fatal progre...

Scientists find key to repairing MS damage

2010-12-06T12:31:01Z

Researchers said they may have found a way to reverse damage in the central nervous system caused by multiple sclerosis, in a study hailed by campaigners as a major breakthrough.

The study by scientists at the universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh has raised hopes of a new treatment within 15 years for the disabling neurological condition, which affects millions of people worldwide.

The team identif...

British scientists find key to repairing MS damage

2010-12-06T10:30:46Z

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Purdy Challenges Assisted suicide ruling

2010-04-14T19:50:22Z

Debbie Purdy arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Britain, 03 February 2009. Purdy who has multiple sclerosis lost her High Court case to clarify the law on assisted suicide last October is set to appeal against the decision, 03 February. Debbie Purdy, 45, from Bradford, is considering go...