multiple sclerosis

Epstein-Barr virus infection appears to be a necessary condition for developing multiple sclerosis, but the specific mechanisms that cause it in some people are not known. An international study of more than 1,300 people, including 650 patients, has found that elevated production of certain antibodies increases the risk of developing the disease. These antibodies target a specific protein in the virus, but can in turn act in a cross-species manner and damage other similar proteins in the nervous system. The results are published in the journal PNAS.

A team from the University of Iowa (USA) has found a relationship between specific species of microbiota bacteria and the severity of multiple sclerosis. Specifically, a lower ratio between the quantities of Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia was related to the disease and to a worse course of the disease, both in mice and in two cohorts of patients and people without the disease. According to the authors, who publish the results in the journal PNAS, the finding could be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Rituximab and ocrelizumab are two antibodies with a similar mechanism of action that are used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Although the former had not shown benefits in primary progressive multiple sclerosis — which affects between 10% and 15% of patients — the latter is approved for this form of the disease. Now, a study conducted in France with more than 1,000 patients has found no benefits with either treatment, as they did not slow the progression of disability in these individuals. The results are published in the journal Neurology.

Researchers have found specific antibodies in the blood of patients years before they showed symptoms of multiple sclerosis. This group of antibodies was present in 10% of the 250 people who later developed the disease, and were part of a sample of over 10 million US military personnel. The finding could have potential for early detection of multiple sclerosis, says the research team in a paper published in Nature Medicine. 

The injection of a type of stem cell into the brains of patients living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) is safe, well-tolerated, and has a lasting effect that appears to protect the brain against further damage, according to an early-phase trial published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

An international team, involving researchers from Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS and the Multiple Sclerosis Centre of Catalonia (Cemcat), has identified for the first time a genetic variant related to the progression of multiple sclerosis. It is located near two genes that had not previously been linked to multiple sclerosis. According to Stephen Sawcer, co-lead author of the study, "understanding how the variant exerts its effects on the severity of multiple sclerosis will pave the way for a new generation of treatments that can prevent disease progression". The results are published in the journal Nature.

A study of 89 patients has shown that the drug teriflunomide is able to delay the onset of multiple sclerosis symptoms in people whose MRI scans show early signs of the disease, even if they have not yet developed symptoms. The work has not yet been published in a scientific journal and its results have been shared at a meeting of the American Neurological Association.

A Swedish study has found an association between lack of sleep or poor quality sleep during adolescence and an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis later in life. They put the relative increased risk at 40 %. The results are published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.