Patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as myasthenia gravis (MG) who are on immunosuppressants have reduced long-term humoral immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, a new study by Dutch researchers found. This reduced response could mainly be attributed to treatment with anti-CD20 and anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents, according to…
The FDA could initially grant accelerated approval for the experimental DMD treatment SRP-9001 only for patients aged 4 to 5 years.
Antiaquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody “may not be the only pathogenic molecule” in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), according to a new study published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Immunology. NMOSD is a heterogeneous disease based on clinical and laboratory profiles between anti-AQP4 antibody positive and negative patients, the study authors wrote. They said it is important…
The neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) registry SPHERES is now collecting biospecimens from willing patients, according to a press release from CorEvitas and The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, the sponsors of the registry. The clinically annotated biospecimens could help develop better diagnostic methods and new treatment options for patients living with the disease. “The launch of…
Megakaryocytes, the precursors of platelets, are able to detect the stiffness of substrates coated with fibronectin and adapt their shape accordingly, a new study using mouse model-derived cells found. This finding is important because in conditions like myelofibrosis (MF), the bone marrow becomes more rigid, which may affect the shape and function of megakaryocytes. A…
The latest clinical research findings about novel agents and evolving treatment strategies in myelofibrosis (MF) were presented at the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) 64th Annual Meeting and summarized in an article published in the Journal of Hematology & Oncology. The article focused on next-generation Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors that are newly approved by…
Researchers from Canada presented the retrospective chart review of 2 siblings with ST3GAL3-related developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), a very rare condition that can evolve into Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. “Seizures . . . often occur in infancy and may present as epileptic spasms,” the researchers wrote in a report they published in the journal Epilepsia Open. Read…
Brain age is a biomarker that is tractable and clinically relevant for disease pathology in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. Brain age also correlates with increasing disability and can be a predictive biomarker of disability in these patients, according to the study, with…
Maintaining ruxolitinib treatment and adding another agent to address anemia in patients with myelofibrosis (MF) is appropriate in some instances, while “switching to another drug has merit” in others, according to a consensus paper published in Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy. Ruxolitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor approved in 2011 by the US Food and Drug…
There is an agreement between patients and neurologists in the assessment of myasthenia gravis (MG) symptoms when using the MG Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scale, found a new study published in the journal Muscle and Nerve. “This evidence supports patient self-administration of the MG-ADL in clinical practice and research,” the study authors concluded. The…
