SPECIAL REPORT
The next disease-modifying therapy (DMT) expected to become available in Canada is cladribine, an oral agent initially developed a decade ago (see The return of cladribine in RRMS, NeuroSens, August 23, 2017). The drug was approved by the European Medicines Agency in June, and is currently in review with Health Canada.
A number of recent studies have suggested that alterations in the gut microbiome (dysbiosis) may contribute to the onset and/or worsening of multiple sclerosis. Two new papers, scheduled for publication this week, report that certain bacterial strains promote neurodegeneration in the EAE mouse model (Cekanaviciute and colleagues. PNAS 2017; in press). Read More
Several recent studies have reported that patient-reported seizure count, a common endpoint used in clinical trials of antiepileptic agents, is highly inaccurate, with patients failing to report a majority of the seizures that occur. Read More
Back in 2009, the launch of the first oral therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis was much anticipated. Cladribine, initially studied in MS as a parenteral drug in 1994 (Sipe et al. Lancet 1994;244:9-13), had been reformulated as an oral therapy and had completed phase III testing. The new drug, Movectro, earned a fast-track review by the FDA in 2006, and received early approval for use in Russia and Australia. Read More