Multiple Sclerosis News

• Patients Face Higher Drug Costs in 2021 Under a New Federal Rule The rule sets health plan standards for 2021 and permits employers and insurers not to apply drug company copayment assistance toward enrollees' deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for any drug.
  Kaiser Health News, July 06, 2020
• MS Disability, Not Drug Therapy, Tied to Worse COVID-19 Outcomes In patients with MS, disability, age, and obesity were the main risk factors for COVID-19 severity in a new French study.
  Medscape Medical News, July 02, 2020
• Good for Profits, Good for Patients: A New Form of Medical Visits Several practices are seeing patients together; the patients enjoy it and benefit from it, and physicians can bill for it.
  Medscape Medical News, June 29, 2020
• Hookworm Therapy for MS: First Randomized Trial The primary endpoint was not significant but there was some evidence of a beneficial effect in this pioneering study; the authors believe this approach could have a role in a niche group.
  Medscape Medical News, June 18, 2020
• In the Uncertainties of Lyme Testing, Lessons for COVID-19 The coronavirus testing debacle, much like early Lyme testing, is a reminder that diagnostics aren't perfect.
  Undark, June 18, 2020
• CMSC 2020CMSC MRI Guidelines Evolve Into International Consensus Protocol Proposed changes to imaging guidelines reflect needed harmony with European and other protocols to boost conformity.
  Medscape Medical News, June 16, 2020
• Relapsing, Progressive MS Classifications Should Be 'Abandoned' Most disability accumulation in relapsing MS is not associated with overt relapses, challenging the current clinical distinction of relapsing and progressive forms of the disease, researchers report.
  Medscape Medical News, June 11, 2020
• CMSC 2020Function in MS May Vary Significantly Within EDSS Scores New findings call into question the reliability of the Expanded Disability Status Scale, say researchers.
  Medscape Medical News, June 09, 2020
• CMSC 2020Cannabis Misconceptions Still Common Among MS Clinicians Despite important implications in the management of MS, clinicians often have little training or knowledge of the wide variations of cannabis.
  Medscape Medical News, June 05, 2020
• CMSC 2020Newest Oral DMTs Haven't Yet Made a Big Impact in the MS World The three oral disease-modifying therapies for MS approved last year in the United States haven't made a big splash in the marketplace, according to a study of neurologists' prescribing patterns.
  Medscape Medical News, June 05, 2020
• CMSC 2020Herpes Zoster Infection With MS Treatment Higher in Women? A review of FDA reports also shows notably higher rates of shingles in women among younger patients taking disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis.
  Medscape Medical News, June 04, 2020
• The Gut a New Therapeutic Target for Brain Disorders? Changes in the mucus that lines the GI tract may contribute to bacterial imbalance in the gut and exacerbate core symptoms of several neurologic disorders.
  Medscape Medical News, June 04, 2020
• CMSC 2020Telerehabilitation May Be Effective in MS Telerehabilitation is safe, may offer functional benefits comparable to those of outpatient rehabilitation for patients with MS and impaired mobility, and also saves time and travel costs.
  Medscape Medical News, June 01, 2020
• CMSC 2020Constraint Movement Therapy May Boost Neuroplasticity in MS Findings on neuroimaging suggest that for patients with progressive multiple sclerosis, constraint-induced movement therapy leads to changes in white and gray matter.
  Medscape Medical News, June 01, 2020
• AAN 2020No Benefit of 3 Commonly Used Medications in MS Fatigue TRIUMPHANT, a new placebo-controlled trial, has not shown any benefit over placebo of three different drugs commonly used to treat fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis.
  Medscape Medical News, May 29, 2020
• CMSC 2020Ofatumumab Shows High Elimination of Disease Activity in MS The pooled findings from the phase 3 ASCLEPIOS trials show robust efficacy of the self-injected therapy for relapsing multiple sclerosis.
  Medscape Medical News, May 29, 2020
• CMSC 2020Natalizumab Switch to Moderate-Efficacy DMT Ups Disability Risk Patients who switched to another high-efficacy therapy had improved disability and inflammatory outcomes.
  Medscape Medical News, May 27, 2020
• EAN 2020High Levels of Air Pollution Linked to Increased MS Risk Living in highly polluted urban areas is associated with a greater risk of developing multiple sclerosis than living in less polluted areas, a large population-based study suggests.
  Medscape Medical News, May 27, 2020
• Study Confirms Higher Risk of Inflammatory CNS Events With Some TNF Inhibitors Exposure to TNF inhibitors is associated with an increased risk of inflammatory events in the CNS in patients with autoimmune diseases, according to a retrospective study.
  Reuters Health Information, May 25, 2020
• AAN 2020Natalizumab Bests Fingolimod for Relapsing-Remitting MS In a head-to-head comparison, natalizumab was superior to fingolimod for evidence of disease activity at 1 year for patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
  Medscape Medical News, May 13, 2020