Matt Hoffman, Editorial Director for NeurologyLive, has covered medical news for MJH Life Sciences, NeurologyLive’s parent company, since 2017. He executive produces the NeurologyLive Mind Moments® podcast, and hosted the Medical World News show Deep Dive. Follow him on Twitter @byMattHoffman or email him at mhoffman@neurologylive.com
Vitalis Announces Plans for Low-Flush Formulation Fumarate VTS-72 In Multiple Sclerosis
October 24th 2019VTS-72 is a proprietary combination of fumarate and VTS-Aspirin believed to improve the pharmacokinetics of fumaric acid while improving flush, which is estimated to occur in up to 40% of patients on a fumarate agent.
FDA Issues Warning Letter for CBD Products to Treat Alzheimer, Parkinson
October 24th 2019The agency sent a joint letter with the FTC to Rooted Apothecary LLC for claiming its CBD products can medically treat a number of conditions including Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease. Since 2017, the FDA has issued more than 10 such letters.
New Parkinson Disease Biomarker Provides Opportunity for Drug Development
October 23rd 2019SynapCell and Motac Neuroscience recently announced a novel biomarker, BetaPark [evo], for Parkinson disease progression. The chief innovation officer at SynapCell provided insight into the clinical implications of this discovery.
Neuromodulation Device Has Significant Effect on Essential Tremor Treatment
October 23rd 2019The director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center of Boca Raton and principal investigator of the PROSPECT study, offered insight into the clinical impact and advantages of the Cala Trio neuromodulation device.
Essential Tremor Symptoms, Severity Improved With Cala Trio Neuromodulation Device
October 22nd 2019The wrist-worn wearable neuromodulation device for essential tremor was shown to be safe and efficacious in the PROSPECT trial, with more than 50% of patients experiencing a ≥50% improvement in tremor "power" or severity.
Deutetrabenazine Improves Tardive Dyskinesia Over Long-Term
October 21st 2019The VMAT2 inhibitor marketed as Austedo by Teva Pharmaceuticals was associated with clinically meaningful long-term treatment benefit in patients with tardive dyskinesia, showing higher response rates than those observed in short-term trials.
Improving Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathy Treatment With Soticlestat
October 18th 2019The director of pediatric epilepsy at Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group and co-director of epileptology at Hackensack University Medical Center provided context to these findings to explain how soticlestat can address challenges in developmental epileptic encephalopathies, as well as what may be next in its advancement.
Edasalonexent Slows DMD Progression in Phase 2 Trial
October 18th 2019Treatment with the Catabasis Pharmaceuticals small molecule oral NF-kB inhibitor resulted in improvements in the 10-meter walk/run scores, time-to-stand scores, and 4-stair climb scores in 31 steroid-naïve boys with DMD aged 4 to 7 years.
The Critical Need to Monitor Post-Epilepsy Surgery Quality of Life
October 17th 2019Recent study results suggest that relative seizure reduction is an equivalent predictor of post-surgery quality of life in epilepsy to seizure freedom. Study author Lara Jehi, MD, offered insight into the value of these data.
Post-Epilepsy Surgery Quality of Life Can Be Predicted With Relative Seizure Reduction
October 16th 2019Relative seizure reduction was as equally strong a predictor of patient quality of life after epilepsy surgery as seizure freedom in a recent study, with absolute reduction proving to be the worst model surveyed.
Evoked Potentials Score Predicts Disability in Clinically Isolated Syndrome
October 14th 2019A composite score of a number of measurements of evoked potentials may be able to predict sustained accumulation of disability in patients with clinically isolated syndrome, which could provide clinicians insight into early disease.
Investigational Migraine Preventive ALD1910 Doses First Phase 1 Patient
October 14th 2019Alder Biopharmaceuticals announced the dosing of the first patient with ALD1910, its investigational monoclonal antibody that inhibits PACAP to prevent migraine. The study is aiming to enroll 100 individuals with results in mid-to-late 2020.
Lasmiditan Approved for Acute Migraine Treatment in Adults
October 11th 2019Eli Lilly’s lasmiditan (Reyvow) tablets are the first member of the ditan class approved for use in adults with migraine with or without aura, offering patients who have an inadequate response to other therapies a new acute treatment option.
Sex-Specific Parameters May Improve MCI Diagnostic Errors
October 10th 2019The study unearthed a 20% diagnostic error rate with non-sex-specific parameters—10% false negatives in women and 10% false positives in men—which the authors found may be eliminated with gender-specific norms and cut scores.
Edasalonexent Slows DMD Progression in Phase 2 Trial
October 7th 2019Treatment with the Catabasis Pharmaceuticals small molecule oral NF-kB inhibitor resulted in improvements in the 10-meter walk/run scores, time-to-stand scores, and 4-stair climb scores in 31 steroid-naïve boys with DMD aged 4 to 7 years.
Investigational Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Treatment Shows Promise at 9 Months
October 5th 2019New 9-month data suggest that Sarepta Therapeutics’ investigational limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2E treatment, SRP-9003, is linked to improved functional measures and reduction in creatine kinase.
Upsher-Smith Launches Sumatriptan Nasal Spray for Acute Migraine Treatment
October 2nd 2019Originally approved by the FDA in January, sumatriptan nasal spray was acquired by Upsher-Smith in a territory rights agreement with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in June, as well as its 3-mg injection formulation (Zembrace SymTouch).