MS and Demyelinating Disorders

The Global Head of Neuroimmunology at Genentech discussed the results of a substudy that found that the use of advanced imaging metrics in MS clinical trials may provide specific information about tissue damage and potential repair.

Neurology News Network for the week of March 22, 2019.

The therapeutic head of neuroinflammation and pain at Novartis spoke about his desire to work to a point where physicians can use NfL to monitor disease activity, make therapeutic decisions, and give perspective to patients.

The staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic's Mellen Center spoke about his clinical experience in switching patients from their current disease-modifying therapy to ocrelizumab.

With a pair of sBLAs under FDA review, the Allergan treatment may finally have an official indication for use in spasticity after years of off-label use by physicians.

Because dark chocolate is relatively inexpensive-and many people like its taste-it could be a pragmatic adjunct to treatment in MS.

Gharagozloo spoke about the early phase model of MS she and her colleagues developed to explore the use of Nlrx1, a mitochondria-located innate immune sensor, in CNS inflammation.

The postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco, spoke about a prognostic marker that can be used to study the role of genetic, epidemiologic and immune variables on MS, and to measure the long-term impact of treatment in clinical trials.

This is the first and largest study that explored mortality associated with beta interferon for treatment of MS in the clinical setting.

The professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School spoke about the long-term correlations between neurofilament light chain and MS outcomes.

Scientists find that Schwann cells protect nerves against blood clotting factors that cause degeneration.

The multiple sclerosis specialist at Baylor Scott & White Health spoke about which symptoms present the biggest challenges for providers.

The Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California San Francisco spoke about a longitudinal study that evaluated the utility of spinal cord atrophy measured from brain scans as a surrogate marker for impending conversion to secondary progressive MS.

The staff neurologist at Premier Neurology, a partner in care with the National MS Society, spoke about how to best overcome the challenges presented by the symptomatic management of MS.

The staff neurologist at the Mellen Center shared the findings from a poster the group presented from the cohort of patients in which they evaluated quantitative MRI.

Understanding risk perception and risk tolerance can lead to greater satisfaction with treatment choices and adherence for patients with MS.

Neurology News Network for the week of March 16, 2019.

The staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic's Mellen Center spoke about the real-world observational study of the primary-progressive MS treatment.

The neurologist with Premier Neurology spoke about the challenges and state of symptomatic care in multiple sclerosis.

Ned Sharpless, MD, the director of the National Cancer Institute, has been named to the position of acting FDA Commissioner. The announcement was made just a week after the current commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced his plans to resign in early April.

The staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic's Mellen Center spoke about re-examining patient-reported outcomes to better understand the quality of life of patients and how it can affect clinical care.

The 2-year safety and efficacy extension of the CHANGE-MS trial ultimately showed encouraging dose-dependent effects with the 18-mg/kg dose on confirmed 12-week EDSS and 25-foot timed walk scores.

The Andrew & Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT spoke about a new way of continuous monitoring for patients with MS and neurodegenerative disorders, discovering changes in quality of life and new biomarkers.

The director of the probabilistic vision group and medical imaging lab at McGill University spoke about how these learning methods can be used to predict future lesion activity and disability progression in MS.

The chief of the Multiple Sclerosis Division at the Perelman School of Medicine discussed the importance of institutions recognizing the value a comprehensive MS clinic can provide not only to the patients but the institution itself.