Researchers at the Kessler Foundation have enlisted the support of Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to begin a researcher study of the effect of ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) on mental weakness in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). .
John DeLuca, PhD, senior vice president of Research and Training, is lead investigator for the study titled, “Biomarker for Cognitive Fatigue in MS Using Action Imaging”. The research team includes Glenn Wylie, DPhil, director of the Kessler Foundation’s Rocco Ortenzio Neuroimaging Center, Ekaterina Dobryakova, PhD, a research scientist at the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, and Helen Genova, PhD, vice- director of the Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research.
Mental weakness can have a devastating effect on the daily activities of people with MS. Reported in 70 to 90% of patients, cognitive impairment is difficult to treat, largely because researchers and clinicians have found a lack of cognitive marker for cognitive impairment. None of the available medications or disease modifying treatments for MS are indicated for the treatment of mental weakness.
Using the unique research capabilities for functional neuroimaging at the Ortenzio Center, Foundation scientists have identified a cognitive marker for mental impairment and proven it in MS. Their aim for the present study is to provide initial data suggesting the effect of ocrelizumab on this target symptom of mental obesity in MS.
The 3-year study includes three groups: 1) individuals with MS who start taking ocrelizumab (Ocrevus), 2) individuals with MS who start taking Copaxone; (glatiramer acetate injection), and 3) healthy controls, all of which are matched by age, education, and gender. Levels of obesity and associated brain activity will be assessed in these groups at baseline, 6 months and 12 months after the start of treatment.
“Action imaging allows us to look at the specific brain areas that underlie mental weakness, and to track any changes in fat patterns during Ocrevus therapy,” Dr. DeLuca said. “Using our cognitive signal in this rigorously designed study, we will be able to test the effect of ocrelizumab on mental weakness in individuals with MS,” said Dr. DeLuca. examining the impact of prescription medications on mental impairment is an important step toward expanding options for treating this disability signal. “