Multiple sclerosis

Treatment with mitoxantrone for multiple sclerosis carries only a mildly increased risk of malignancy overall, but the risk of colorectal cancer and leukaemia is heightened, researchers have found.

Frequent relapse activity appears to be a key driver of disability accrual in patients with relapse-onset multiple sclerosis, indicates a study of patients receiving first-line injectable disease-modifying treatment.

Rebound syndrome following cessation of fingolimod for multiple sclerosis occurs at a clinically relevant rate, shows research, prompting the need for further study on how best to sequence and discontinue such drugs.

Rituximab is more effective and better tolerated than fingolimod for patients with multiple sclerosis needing to switch from natalizumab due to JC-virus antibody positivity, research suggests.

The thickness of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer may help to predict worsening disability in patients with multiple sclerosis, optical coherence tomography findings indicate.

Patients with multiple sclerosis have more comorbidities than would be expected for their age, even at the time of diagnosis, say researchers.

Oral antidiabetic medications have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects in patients with multiple sclerosis and metabolic syndrome, providing support for a link between metabolism and autoimmunity, researchers report.

Children born to mothers deficient in vitamin D during early pregnancy have an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis as adults, researchers report.

The selective sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor inhibitor ozanimod significantly reduces lesion activity in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis, shows a phase II study published in The Lancet Neurology.

Natalizumab may be superior to fingolimod for preventing relapses during the first year of treatment in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis, observational study findings show.

Fingolimod is unable to slow disability progression or brain volume loss in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, show the findings of the INFORMS study.

Selective sodium channel blockade with the anti-epileptic drug phenytoin protects against acute demyelinating optic neuritis, researchers report.

Oestriol, given in combination with glatiramer acetate, may reduce the risk of relapse in women with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis, suggest findings from a phase II trial.

Multiple sclerosis has a nonspecific effect on psychiatric morbidity, increasing the risk of all psychiatric disorders, shows a large population-based study.

Researchers have identified a subset of B cells that contributes to multiple sclerosis pathology independently of antibody production.

Findings from the GATE study have shown equivalent efficacy and tolerability for a generic version of glatiramer acetate to that of the original brand version in the treatment of relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis.

Top-line findings from the ORATORIO study indicate that ocrelizumab reduces the rate of disability progression in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis.

The DECIDE study shows that 4-weekly daclizumab high-yield process reduces disease activity in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis more effectively than weekly interferon beta-1a, albeit at the cost of more adverse effects.

Researchers recommend extending the minimum timeframe for confirming disability progression in multiple sclerosis from 3–6 months to 12 or 24 months to better distinguish true irreversible disability from relapse-associated transient disability.

Patients who are smokers when diagnosed with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis may be able to delay the time to onset of progressive disease by quitting smoking, a study suggests.