CHARIOT-MS-PR_FINAL_20201116
ChariotMS is on a roll…
I’ve been neglecting my blogging duties, but I have an excuse, which is that I had the team and myself on ‘slogging’ duties to get ChariotMS underway:-) ChariotMS is an ‘investigator-led’ trial, and that really means doing all related jobs yourself, from protocol writing to participant-information & consent sheets, case report forms, database, statistics...
MSVirtual2020: ChariotMS
Whilst COVID-19 continues to be rather all-consuming, we’ve been extremely fortunate signing all relevant contracts at the start of the pandemic enabling us to keep the momentum of ChariotMS. Recruitment was meant to start this month, however COVID-19 threw us a final dummy, and we are now on course to enrol the first participant in Jan 2021. I can hardly describe how excited I am this...
Self-monitoring turbocharged
We recently published this summary of our good intentions to (i) improve systematic follow-up using simple tools, (ii) listen to the feedback of pwMS and (iii) develop a yet closer collaboration with the MS Society’s UK MS Register (). Conceived well before the pandemic broke out, the concept of “assisted self-monitoring” developed new urgency in the light of #MSCOVID-19. The...
Skin reactions with cladribine
Since 2014, i.e. three years before cladribine tablets were EMA licensed for highly active MS, we have treated well over 200 pwMS using injectable (s.c.) cladribine as an off-label immunotherapy. This has been a well received programme that helped a number of pwMS access treatment, who were either not eligible for licensed disease-modifying treatments (DMT), or chose our off-label offering over...
#MSCOVID19 – Updated ABN guidance on MS DMT during the pandemic
Thanks to @drruthdobson I’ve just received the new ABN guidance on MS disease modifying treatment during the COVID-19 crisis. This updates last week’s document shared here: . ABN-Guidance-on-DMTs-for-MS-and-COVID19-APPROVED-18-March-v-3 The main change is related to NHS England having relaxed the eligibility criteria for natalizumab (Tysabri) in order to enable using the drug instead...
#COVIDMS ABN guidance on DMT in the times of COVID-19
Here it is, hot off the pdf, and now you may be really confused, but that’s the nature of debate, and the Blog doesn’t (always) provide medical advice you should translate 1:1 into your own disease management, so take it with a pinch of salt and discuss your individual risk-benefit profile with your care team. ABN-Guidance-on-DMTs-for-MS-and-COVID19-APPROVED-11-March Fortunately...
#ThinkHand – What happened to #ChariotMS ?
Yes, what happened you might ask, and all I can say is: A great deal. The UK National Institute of Health Research’s EME board has elevated #ChariotMS from the brawling crowd (stage 1) to the boxing ring (stage 2), and the reason they gave was this: “The Board note that this is an important research question.” No further patting on the back though, since the whole team is...
World MS Day 2018
It’s World MS Day today! This annual awareness day has been pioneered by the MS International Foundation (MSIF) and takes place each year at the end of May. Check here for events across the Globe. This years’s World MS Day campaign headline is #bringinguscloser, which the organisers translate as follows: “Research is bringing us closer to ending MS. To...
ACTRIMS 2018: Rituximab does not affect MRI detected meningeal lesions
Intrathecal rituximab is worth exploring as a treatment option? Can it eliminate the B-cells driving progressive disease? Phase 1 Trial of Intrathecal Rituximab in Progressive MS Patients with Evidence of Leptomeningeal Contrast Enhancement Background: Leptomeningeal inflammation is associated with increased cortical demyelination, neuronal damage and worse clinical outcomes, suggesting it may...