Multiple Sclerosis Discovery: The Podcast Of The Ms Discovery Forum

Transcript will be available Tuesday, 17 November 2015

[intro music]  Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Fifty-Nine of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller. In our previous podcast, you heard about a group of leading MS researchers and clinicians calling for a big change in improving care for people with MS. The new report, called Brain Health – Time Matters in MS, makes the case for a therapeutic strategy to minimize disease activity. The report advises early diagnosis and treatment, and regular monitoring of disease activity. The report urges patients, physicians, health care payers, and policy makers to support the goal of life-long brain health. In this podcast, another one of the report authors, Dr. Helmut Butzkueven, talks about what the new treatment target means for patients and their doctors in the real world. This is one of our extra podcasts from the big MS meeting in Barcelona talking about ways that evidence from research can be translated now into better MS outcomes But first, he

[intro music] Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode 58 of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller. A group of people are calling for a big change in improving care for people with MS. There may be no cure for MS yet, but there are a lot of ways to improve their outcomes. In this podcast, one of the ringleaders, Dr. Gavin Giovannoni, talks about a new push to use long-term brain health as a goal in MS treatment. The new report, called Brain Health, makes the point that time matters in MS. The authors draw on more than 300 research studies to show evidence that brain tissue can be preserved with early and effective treatment, and regular monitoring of disease activity. The report urges patients, physicians, health care payers, and policy makers to support the goal of life-long brain health. This podcast gives you the main take-home points from the Brain Health initiative, launched at the recent MS meeting in Barcelona, Spain. We will have extra po

[intro music] Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Fifty-Seven of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller. This week’s podcast comes to you from last week’s big MS meeting in Barcelona, Spain, with an interview with Dr. Timothy Vollmer, who gives his take on the early results of a large Phase 3 study of ocrelizumab for primary progressive MS. The experimental drug blocks circulating B cells. We will have several extra meeting-related podcasts for you in the next two weeks. In the next one, Dr. Gavin Giovannoni talks about a new push to use long term brain health as a goal in MS treatment. And Dr. Vollmer will return in the coming weeks to discuss the Denver treatment experience with another B cell blocking drug, rituximab. But first, here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum. Every week MSDF lists the latest scientific papers related to MS with links to the abstracts on PubMed. Of nearly 100 new studies published last week, we selected

Transcript [intro music] Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Fifty-Six of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller. This week’s podcast features an interview with Dr. Gavin Giovannoni who discusses the first experimental drug to show some benefit in a progressive form of multiple sclerosis in a major trial. The drug is ocrelizumab, and the trial is called ORATORIO. But first, here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum. The ocrelizumab findings were the big news at last week’s large international MS meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Our Research Roundup highlights other breaking stories from the meeting. Stay tuned for more in the days to come. We’ll be rolling out in-depth stories on some research themes we followed at the meeting. And we will have some extra meeting-related podcasts for you in the next two weeks. Every week, MSDF lists the latest scientific papers related to MS, with links to the abstracts on PubMed. Of 138 new studies publi

[intro music] Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Fifty-Five of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller. This week’s Podcast features an interview with Dr. Michael Levy, who discusses the status of regenerative stem cell therapies for multiple sclerosis. But first, here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum. Our lead story last week looked at a way to prevent a rare but dangerous viral brain infection that can be a side effect of certain drugs. The risk of infection limits the people who can take natalizumab to prevent the inflammatory brain attacks of relapsing-remitting MS. Two new papers propose vaccinating people against the virus. Experts are still debating the underlying biology, but they say the approach should be tested in people. Every week, MSDF lists the latest scientific papers related to MS, with links to the abstracts on PubMed. Of more than 100 new studies published last week, we selected three as editor’s picks. One stud

Transcript will be available Friday, Oct  2

[intro music]Host – Dan KellerHello, and welcome to Episode Fifty-Three of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.This week’s podcast features Dr. Jonathan Kipnis, who discusses his recent discovery of lymphatic vessels in the meninges. But first, here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum.According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 34 such articles were published between August 21st and 28th. To see these publications and the articles we selected as Editors Picks, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers. Our Drug-Development Pipeline includes continually updated information on 44 investigational agents for MS. This week, we’ve added 6 pieces of information about alemtuzumab and fingolimod. To find information on all 44 compounds, visit msdiscovery.org and click first on Research Resources and then on Drug-Development Pipeline.The MSDF team is looking forward to attending next month’s ECTRIMS meeting in Barcelo

[intro music]Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Fifty-Two of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.This week’s podcast features Dr. David Tabby, who discusses the incidence of headache in MS. But first, here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum.According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 53 such articles were published between August 14 and 21. To see these publications and the articles we selected as Editors Picks, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers. We’ve made some recent updates to our Funding Opportunities and our Meetings and Events listings, both of which can be found under our Professional Resources tab. Be sure to take a look at a newly-posted funding announcement entitled, “National MS Society: Health Care Delivery and Policy Research Contracts.” If you know of any meetings, events, or funding opportunities that are missing from our lists, please email us at editor@msdiscovery.org s

[intro music] Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Fifty-One of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller. This week’s podcast features Dr. Luke Lairson of Scripps Research Institute, who discusses discovery of small molecules to induce remyelination and, in particular, some muscarinic receptor antagonists currently approved for other indications. But first, here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum. According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 114 such articles were published in the first two weeks of August. We selected a few of these articles as our Editor’s Picks. One is a longitudinal study of gray matter lesions and cortical atrophy in MS published in PLOS ONE. The investigators obtained MRIs at baseline and five years later from subjects with clinically isolated syndrome, early and late relapsing-remitting MS, and secondary progressive MS, and examined lesion placement and cortical thinning in the

[intro music]   Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Fifty of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features Dr. David Tabby, who discusses the use of balance vests in people with MS. But first here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum.   According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 65 such articles were published last week. We selected one of these articles as an Editor’s Pick. It’s a large case-control study in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrating that MS is associated with more than a six-fold increase in the risk of venous thromboembolism. To see this week’s articles, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers.   Our Drug-Development Pipeline includes continually updated information on 44 investigational agents for MS. During the month of July, we added 6 new trials, we updated information on 6 other trials, and we added 56 other pieces of information

[intro music]   Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-nine of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features Dr. Hugh Rosen of the Scripps Research Institute. But first here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum.   If you’re an MS researcher, you may want to keep an eye on our Bulletin Board section, where we post a variety of news items that may be of interest. One of the items we posted this week is directly related to Dr. Rosen’s work. It’s a notice that a phase 3 trial of a sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator called RPC1063 has started recruiting twelve hundred patients with relapsing remitting MS in the US. RPC1063 had its origins in Dr. Rosen’s lab.   We also recently added a notice of another clinical trial to the Bulletin Board. That one’s a phase 2 trial of oral laquinimod in primary progressive MS. And a third new Bulletin Board announcement is a request for information from the Patient Cent

[intro music]   Host – Dan Keller  Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-eight of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features Dr. Bruce Cree on the EPIC, CLIMB, and SUMMIT clinical trials in MS. But first here are some new items in the MS Discovery Forum.   We're very happy to report that MSDF has received three generous grants that will allow us to continue our mission: to focus attention on what is known and not yet known about MS and related conditions in a way that builds bridges among different disciplines. Genzyme has given us two grants. One will allow us to continue producing this weekly podcast for another year, and the other will allow us to develop an additional 12 monthly data visualizations. And Biogen has given us a grant for general operating support. None of these grants will interfere with our editorial freedom, and you can continue to count on MSDF to be an independent source of unbiased MS news.   A conference

[intro music]   Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-Seven of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features the second part of a two-part interview with Dr. Hans Lassmann, who discusses oxidative stress as a mechanism of tissue injury in progressive MS. But first, here are some of the new items in the MS Discovery Forum.   According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 56 such articles were published last week. To see the list, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers. We selected two of those papers as Editors’ Picks. One of them includes revised guidelines from the Association of British Neurologists on prescribing disease-modifying treatments for MS. The other describes an international consensus on diagnostic criteria for neuromyelitis optica and related disorders.   Our Drug-Development Pipeline includes continually updated information on 44 investigational agents for MS. Dur

Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-Six of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features the first part of a two-part interview with Dr. Hans Lassmann, who discusses biomarkers in multiple sclerosis. But first, here are some of the new items in the MS Discovery Forum.   According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 61 such articles were published last week. To see the list, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers. We selected two of those papers as Editors’ Picks. One, on the prevalence of pain in MS, found that around two-thirds of MS patients experience pain, and this symptom is associated with disability, depression, and especially anxiety. The other editor’s pick is a study of a toxin produced by Clostridium perfringens, a common bacterium often found in the gut that produces an MS-like disease in sheep. This epsilon toxin selectively kills oligodendrocytes while preserving all other neural

[intro music]   Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-Five of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features an interview with Dr. Simon Hametner, who discusses the role of iron in multiple sclerosis. But first, here are some of the new items on the MS Discovery Forum.   According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 59 such articles were published last week. To see the list, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers. We selected two of those papers as Editors’ Picks. One, published in Nature Reviews Neurology proposes a definition of aggressive multiple sclerosis as well as a treatment algorithm. The other editor’s pick, published in the journal Neurology, reports on a randomized, placebo-controlled study on patients switching from natalizumab to fingolimod, concluding that shorter washout periods may be better.   Our Drug-Development Pipeline includes continually updated informatio

[intro music]   Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-Four of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features an interview with Dr. Monika Bradl, who discusses animal models of neuromyelitis optica, NMO. But first, here are some of the new items on the MS Discovery Forum.   According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 69 such articles were published last week. To see the list, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers. We selected two of those papers as Editors’ Picks. One – on the use of MRI in NMO –included no fewer than 48 co-authors, a veritable Who’s Who of prominent MS researchers. The other editor’s pick, which had “only” 36 co-authors, was a large study providing strong evidence that disease-modifying treatment reduces disability worsening events in clinically isolated syndrome and early MS. . [transition music]   Now to the interview. Dr. Monika Bradl is an associate profes

[intro music]   Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-Three of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features an interview with Dr. May Han, who discusses issues related to following patients with clinically isolated syndrome. But first, here are some new items on the MS Discovery Forum.   We recently posted an article on a surprisingly strong association between a certain gene variant and non-response to interferon beta in people with RRMS. The study is a meta-analysis of three independent cohorts in Italy, France, and the U.S., and it comes from the labs of Philip De Jager and Filippo Boneschi. You’ll find this article by clicking first on News & Future Directions and then on New Findings.   This past week we published the latest in our series of data visualizations. This month’s visualization is a series of word clouds illustrating how key terms in the MS clinical-trial literature have changed between 1993 and 2014. To find t

[intro music]   Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-Two of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features an interview with Dr. Lawrence Steinman, who discusses a surprising result involving amyloid, a molecule typically associated with destruction in Alzheimer’s disease, in an animal model of MS.   Our Drug-Development Pipeline includes continually updated information on 44 investigational agents for MS. During the past week we added 1 new trial and 16 other pieces of information. The drugs with important additions are dimethyl fumarate, daclizumab, glatiramer acetate, and natalizumab. To find information on all 44 compounds, visit msdiscovery.org and click first on Research Resources and then on Drug-Development Pipeline.   According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 50 such articles were published last week. To see last week’s list, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers. We selected one of

[intro music]   Host – Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Forty-One of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m your host, Dan Keller.   This week’s podcast features an interview with Diego Cadavid, who discusses trials of anti-LINGO-1 in MS. But first, a few updates on the latest developments at MSDF.   Our Drug-Development Pipeline includes continually updated information on 44 investigational agents for MS. During the past week, we added 3 new trials and 11 other pieces of information.  The drugs with important additions are dalfampridine, fingolimod, glatiramer acetate, interferon beta-1a, interferon beta-1b, naltrexone, and natalizumab. To find information on all 44 compounds, visit msdiscovery.org and click first on Research Resources and then on Drug-Development Pipeline.   According to our curated list of the latest scientific articles related to MS, 54 such articles were published last week. To see last week’s list, go to msdiscovery.org and click on Papers. We