A number of new drugs for neurology and psychiatry are currently in review with regulatory authorities in the U.S. and Canada. The following summarizes some of the key therapies expected to be approved in 2020. Read More
Neurology
FDA approves compassionate use of Ecstasy
January 29, 2020The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Expanded Access to methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), enabling some patients to undergo treatment before the drug is formally authorized. MDMA, known by the street names Ecstasy and Molly, was developed and patented by E. Merck (now EMD Serono) a century ago. It was used as an empathogen in psychotherapy during the 1970s but was labelled as a Schedule I controlled substance (no medical use) in 1985.
MS prognosis – 30-year follow-up
January 22, 2020A 30-year follow-up of patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) reports that MRI findings (lesion location, lesion number) at baseline and at one year were the most robust prognostic factors of long-term outcomes (Chung et al. Ann Neurol 2020;87:63-74). Results at 20 years were previously published as Fisniku et al. Brain 2008;131:808-817.
Targeting amyloid in AD – optimism amid controversy
January 15, 2020The year 2019 had its share of disappointing drug trials in Alzheimer disease, leading many to question whether anti-amyloid therapies were the optimal strategy. But that view may have shifted with controversial developments later in the year. Read More
Sequencing MS therapies – a changing landscape
December 17, 2019Comment by Dr. Virender Bhan – Senior neurologist, Burnaby/Vancouver, BC, Canada.
NeuroSens recently posted a survey on sequencing disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in multiple sclerosis to investigate whether clinicians’ approaches have changed in the past 2-3 years. The current survey was a follow-up to a series of surveys conducted over a one-year period ending in December 2017 that accompanied an 8-part article on sequencing. (For a summary of those results see Are opinions changing on changing therapies in MS?, NeuroSens, October 22, 2019). Read More