Autoreactive immune T-cells that wrongly recognize myelin as foreign drive pro-inflammatory responses and immune attacks against it, with the help of B-cells. B-cells are a type of immune cell that, when activated into plasma cells, produce antibodies also called immunoglobulins or Ig against specific foreign molecules.
Genentech’s Ocrevus is the first and only approved therapy in the U.S. and the European Union for PPMS. Its dosing schedule involves two 300 mg intravenous (into-the-vein) infusions, given two weeks apart, followed by 600 mg infusions every six months.
The therapy works by targeting and subsequently killing cells that have the CD20 protein at their surface. CD20 is highly present at the surface of inactive B-cells and memory B-cells, but not in stem cells, which give rise to all immune cells, nor antibody-producing plasma cells.
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A thyroid hormone-mimicking compound not only prevented nerve cell damage but promoted the cells’ survival in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS).
This discovery advances previous research showing that the compound, called sobetirome, can induce the repair of myelin, the protective sheath around nerves. The data suggest that thyromimetics molecules that mimic the thyroid hormone could form the basis of a therapeutic strategy to prevent the progression of MS and other neurodegenerative disorders.
“Sobetirome and related drugs are effective at stimulating myelin repair after damage has occurred,” Dennis Bourdette, MD, the study’s senior author and a retired professor from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine, said in a university press release.
Sexual Dysfunction Common in Men with MS, Review Finds 3.9 (18)
Sexual dysfunction affects more than 60% of adult men with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review study.
The data add to previous findings showing that more than two-thirds of women with MS also experience these problems, highlighting the importance of detecting and managing sexual dysfunction in this patient population, the researchers noted.
The review study, “
“Because of the significant relationship between sexual dysfunction and both physical and psychological disorders, MS symptoms can lead to different types and ranges of sexual dysfunction,” the researchers wrote.
Several studies have pointed out that sexual problems affecting sexual desire, arousal, erection, orgasm, and pain are highly common among MS patients, regardless of gender. Notably, women with MS also were found to be at a higher risk of sexual dysfunction than those without the disease.