The Week of

Scientists identified Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), the virus that causes mononucleosis, as a likely trigger for multiple sclerosis (MS).

Researchers found that people infected with EBV had a dramatically higher risk of developing MS later in life, and that the body’s immune response to this virus appears to play a key role in the disease’s development. This discovery helps explain why MS occurs, and opens up new possibilities for prevention and treatment by targeting EBV rather than only treating MS symptoms after they appear. Check it out: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-025-02412-3.‍

Teva Canada announced that it entered into a strategic partnership with Novartis Canada to relaunch Mayzent® (siponimod) for patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) in Canada.

Under the terms of the agreement, Teva Canada will assume exclusive responsibility for the promotion, distribution, and commercialization of Mayzent®, leveraging its established neurology footprint and nationwide commercial infrastructure. Novartis Canada will continue to support the therapy through its scientific and clinical expertise.

The relaunch is intended to improve access to an important oral treatment option for Canadians living with active SPMS, a form of multiple sclerosis with limited therapeutic choices. Here’s more: https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/teva-canada-announces-strategic-partnership-with-novartis-canada-to-relaunch-mayzent-for-multiple-sclerosis-patients-in-canada.

​​Scientists announced that they identified a specific brain network that may be at the core of Parkinson’s disease and could explain many of its symptoms, including movement problems and cognitive decline.

The network, known as the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN), was found to be abnormally connected in people with Parkinson’s, and targeting it with non-invasive brain stimulation produced significantly better symptom relief than stimulating nearby brain regions.

This discovery challenges the idea that Parkinson’s is solely a disorder of traditional motor circuits and offers a more precise target for future treatments. Early results suggest that focusing on SCAN could potentially improve or slow symptoms more effectively than current therapies that mainly treat downstream effects rather than the underlying network dysfunction. Check it out: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-10059-1.

Did you know that there’s a brain-computer interface that can decode imagined speech in paralyzed patients?

Last summer, a brain-computer interface was shown to recognize imagined words in people with paralysis, even without any physical speech attempt.

This discovery marks an important step toward restoring communication for people living with conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), who often lose the ability to speak as the disease progresses. The work is part of an ongoing clinical trial investigating how brain-computer interfaces can help reconnect patients with language.

The research is being led by biomedical engineers at Georgia Tech and Emory University, in collaboration with teams at Stanford University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brown University, and the University of California, Davis. Together, they are studying how implanted neural devices can interpret brain signals and translate them into actions, allowing patients to use assistive technologies to regain some of the abilities lost to paralysis.

Check it out: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00681-6