Articles related to MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)

In addition to the improvements in gait and balance, all individuals, including those who combined a Mediterranean diet with a placebo, improved their endurance after four months, according to the pilot study published in Food & Function.

Shift work has previously been linked to an increased risk of developing MS, presumably due to the resulting sleep deprivation and circadian desynchrony. The current study compared sleeping 7–9 hours/night during adolescence, with less than 7 hours/night and found a 40% increase in risk for developing MS in the short-sleep cohort. The authors conclude that “insufficient sleep and low sleep quality during adolescence seem to increase the risk of subsequently developing MS.”

This neurology news roundup from MedPage Today includes four highlights of note: First, a JAMA Internal Medicine article pointing out that gabapentin will not solve the opioid crisis in the US. Second, ublituximab, approved for relapsing MS at the end of December, has been included in the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s report on comparative effectiveness. Third, the same organization says that the newly approved Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab will need to be priced below $21,000 per year to be cost effective. And finally, a link to Neurology‘s crystal ball view into neurology education in the coming decade.

This 10-year study is the first large, population-based assessment of spasticity treatment in MS. It reveals that younger, newly diagnosed people are prescribed baclofen more their older peers. This is the first study to show high rates of baclofen discontinuation among all patients with MS, with more than 50% of patients discontinued treatment within 6 months.

In addition to stroke, central causes of vertigo include brainstem glioma, medulloblastoma, vestibular schwannoma, and vestibular migraine. Peripheral causes include BPPV, Meniere disease, acute labyrinthitis, vestibular neuritis, and multiple sclerosis.

Relapsing MS treatment remains difficult, and new therapeutic targets have been investigated. S1P, a bioactive lysophospholipid signaling molecule present in several organs, including the central nervous system, is one such target. S1P plays a role in a variety of physiologic and pathophysiologic processes. S1P levels have been linked to disease progression in the brain parenchyma and cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients. There are 5 recognized S1PR subtypes, and depending on the receptor being targeted, their expression patterns and outcomes change. S1PRMs are a more recent class of RMS treatments, and the FDA has currently approved 4 of these treatments: fingolimod, siponimod, ozanimod, and ponesimod.