Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy News and Research

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Four genetic mutations linked to progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

New research has confirmed a strong link between four genetic mutations and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare but often fatal brain infection that can be triggered by dozens of FDA-approved drugs.

14 Dec 2022

Newly identified brain molecule orchestrates the immune system's responses to Alzheimer's and MS

UVA Health researchers have discovered a molecule in the brain responsible for orchestrating the immune system's responses to Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), potentially allowing doctors to supercharge the body's ability to fight those and other devastating neurological diseases.

17 Oct 2022

Antiviral T cells safe, effective as off-the-shelf therapy for painful complication after stem cell transplants

A Phase II trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that BK virus (BKV)-specific T cells from healthy donors were safe and effective as an off-the-shelf therapy for BKV-associated hemorrhagic cystitis (BKV-HC), a painful complication common after allogeneic stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia or lymphoma.

30 Apr 2021

Genetic modification in ‘coat’ of fatal brain virus may allow it to escape antibodies

A genetic modification in the 'coat' of a brain infection-causing virus may allow it to escape antibodies, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

20 Nov 2020

IL-21 protein is a major part of immune response to chronic infections in the central nervous system

Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine now better understand the role of a protein, interleukin-21 (IL-21), in the immune system response to infections in the nervous system.

6 Oct 2020

First chemoimmunotherapy regimen approved by FDA for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin-piiq), in combination with the chemotherapy bendamustine and a rituximab product (a combination known as "BR"), to treat adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) that has progressed or returned after at least two prior therapies.

10 Jun 2019

Study of MS patients shows 18% were given wrong diagnoses

A recent study found that nearly 18 percent of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis before being referred to two major Los Angeles medical centers for treatment actually had been misdiagnosed with the autoimmune disease.

8 Apr 2019

First biosimilar approved by FDA for treatment of adult patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Truxima (rituximab-abbs) as the first biosimilar to Rituxan (rituximab) for the treatment of adult patients with CD20-positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) to be used as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy.

29 Nov 2018

New first-line treatment for peripheral T-cell lymphoma approved by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) injection in combination with chemotherapy for adult patients with certain types of peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

16 Nov 2018

FDA approves new drug to treat MS in pediatric patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Gilenya (fingolimod) to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) in children and adolescents age 10 years and older. This is the first FDA approval of a drug to treat MS in pediatric patients.

14 May 2018

Extending dosing intervals makes common multiple sclerosis drug safer to use

A commonly-prescribed multiple sclerosis (MS) infusion medication linked to a rare but serious side effect is safer to use when dosing intervals are extended, according to a new study led by MS specialists NYU Langone Health.

5 Feb 2018

TSRI scientists shed light on molecular workings of MS drug

A study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has helped to de-mystify the molecular workings of the multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tecfidera. The drug is the most widely prescribed pill-based therapy for MS, but its biological mechanism remains mysterious.

21 Sep 2016

Penn State researchers link mutation in common virus to fatal brain disease

Why people on immunosuppressant drugs for autoimmune conditions have a higher incidence of an often-fatal brain disease may be linked to a mutation in a common virus, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine.

19 May 2016

Rituximab outperforms fingolimod after natalizumab switch

Rituximab is more effective and better tolerated than fingolimod for patients with multiple sclerosis needing to switch from natalizumab due to JC-virus antibody positivity, research suggests.

26 Apr 2016

Rituximab drug more effective than fingolimod for patients with highly active multiple sclerosis

A new study indicates that rituximab is more effective than fingolimod for preventing relapses in patients with highly active multiple sclerosis switching from treatment with natalizumab.

22 Apr 2016

Natalizumab shows relapse prevention benefits over fingolimod in MS

Natalizumab may be superior to fingolimod for preventing relapses during the first year of treatment in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis, observational study findings show.

4 Feb 2016

Interim data from long-term extension Tecfidera® (dimethyl fumarate) study

Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) will, this week, present data at the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Barcelona, Spain, demonstrating the efficacy and safety of TECFIDERA® (dimethyl fumarate) across a broad range of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

7 Oct 2015

Researchers reveal potential new treatment methods for fatal brain disease

Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich reveal possible new treatment methods for a rare, usually fatal brain disease. Thanks to their discovery that specific antibodies play a key role in combating the viral infection, a vaccine against the disease "progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy" could now be developed.

24 Sep 2015

Inhibikase Therapeutics launches observational clinical study in patients who survived PML

Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. announces the launch of an observational clinical study in patients who contracted Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML), the rare and often fatal brain infection that arises as an unintended side effect of some medications used for treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn's disease, Ulcerative Colitis and certain cancers of the blood and lymph.

13 Aug 2015

Inhibikase Therapeutics receives Phase II SBIR grant to advance novel RAMP medicinal chemistry program

Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. announces the receipt of a Phase II SBIR grant in the amount of $1.54 million dollars from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to advance its novel Re-engineering with Metabolism Preserved (RAMP) medicinal chemistry program.

29 Jun 2015