The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Category: Research

Is it time to end testing drugs on animals?

Lab mouse used for drug testing.

The headline on the news release that dropped into my in-box recently read: “FDA Announces Plan to Phase Out Animal Testing Requirement for Monoclonal Antibodies and Other Drugs.” Take animals out of the drug approval process? Really? Monocolonal antibody therapies are some of the highest efficacy treatments in the multiple sclerosis (MS) arsenal. They include Tysabri (natalizumab) Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), Ocrevus (ocrelizumab, Kesimpta (ofatumumab), and Briumvi (ublituximab). (Notice the “mab” at…Continue Reading

Did we need this MS research?

Man at a laptop doing research.

Have you ever looked at a multiple sclerosis (MS) research paper and thought “why in the world did they waste time and money on that?” I read one of those reports the other day, about MS fatigue and life quality. The news was headlined in one publication as “Fatigue significantly contributes to impaired well-being in MS.” Gee, really? The Finnish researchers studied data from more than 500 people with MS.…Continue Reading

Meals and my multiple sclerosis

Steak and asparagus on a plate

I’ve never been someone who eats healthy meals. I didn’t as a child and I’m not much better as a 76-year-old man. Research, over the years, has shown that there could be a connection between my meals and my multiple sclerosis (MS). Now, a recent study, by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine, adds more weight to that possibility. The study, published in the January 16, 2025 edition of…Continue Reading

Tolebrutinib nears the MS approval finish line

Woman runs toward finish line, like tolebrutinib is

After some stumbles out of the starting gate, an experimental treatment that’s in a group hoping to be the next big thing for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is a step closer to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Tolebrutinib, developed by Sanofi, has been designated as a Breakthrough Therapy for the treatment of adults with non-relapsing secondary progressive MS (nrSPMS). The designation is intended to speed the development…Continue Reading

Can this CAR-T therapy help people with MS?

Woman with fingers crossed hoping for CART-T MS therapy success.

My fingers are crossed. Again. IMPT-514, an experimental cell therapy produced by ImmPACT Bio, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for phase 1 multiple sclerosis (MS) trials. I hope this treatment might be the next big thing for people with MS, but I know from experience that’s far from certain. IMPT-514 is a bispecific chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, designed to ease MS symptoms…Continue Reading

Age caps for clinical trials should be removed

Closed road barrier symbolizes trial limits

I recently saw a request for clinical trial volunteers for a medication that might reduce my multiple sclerosis fatigue. “That’s great,” I thought. Fatigue is one of my worst MS symptoms. I’ve lived with it for decades and the Provigil (modafinil) that I’ve been using doesn’t help much anymore. This trial seemed like a natural for me. But I didn’t have to read the participant requirements very far to reach…Continue Reading

Do animal studies raise our MS treatment hopes too high?

Man with fingers crossed

Mice exaggerate and monkeys lie, some researchers jokingly say. (Or is it the other way around?) Testing on rodents and animals is a typical early step in creating medications, and several multiple sclerosis news sites publish articles about these studies. It’s interesting to read what researchers are studying and the experimental MS treatments they hope will work, especially when it comes to the holy grail of MS treatments which, in…Continue Reading

Some MS Research is Out of this World

MS research on the ISS

As you read this, a group of scientists is doing MS research high above the earth. Their laboratory is in orbit about 250 miles up, aboard the International Space Station. Working with researchers at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF), astronauts have been helping with a study about how astrocytes — cells that hold other cells together in the central nervous system — can be manipulated to halt or…Continue Reading

A Little Stumble for BTKi’s

BTK's are molecules

A little over a year ago, I wrote about whether Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi’s) might be the next big thing in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments. BTKi’s are small molecules that selectively block an enzyme that’s important for the activation of B-cells in the immune system and microglia, cells whose job is to protect neurons. Some of both types of cells are thought to be responsible for the abnormal immune…Continue Reading

Can We Attack EBV to Fight MS?

Epstein-Barr EBV

There are continuing signals that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a fuel that can spark a multiple sclerosis fire. EBV is a herpes virus that causes infectious mononucleosis, more commonly known as mono. Sometimes called the “kissing disease” because the virus that causes it is easily spread through saliva, mono causes extreme fatigue and body aches. It’s estimated that 90% of Americans are infected by EBV by the time they’re…Continue Reading