MS attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord
A new drug is the “most effective” treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, say UK researchers.
During MS the body’s immune system turns on its own nerves causing debilitating muscle problems.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge say a cancer drug, which wipes out and resets the immune system, has better results than other options.
However, there is concern that a drugs company is about to increase the cost of the drug as a result.
Around 100,000 people in the UK have multiple sclerosis. When the condition is diagnosed most will have a form of the disease know as relapsing-remitting MS, in which the symptoms can almost disappear for a time, before suddenly returning.
Built from scratch
The researchers tested a leukaemia drug, alemtuzumab, which had shown benefits for MS in small studies.
In leukaemia, a blood cancer, it controls the excess production of white blood cells. In MS patients, the dose eliminates the immune cells entirely, forcing a new immune system to be built from scratch which should not attack the nerves.
Two trials, published in the Lancet medical journal, compared the effectiveness of alemtuzumab with a first-choice drug, interferon beta-1a.
One compared the effectiveness in patients given the drug after being diagnosed, the other looked at patients given the drug after other treatments had failed.
Both showed the drug was around 50% more effective at preventing relapses and patients had less disability at the end of the study than when they started.
Dr Alasdair Coles, from the University of Cambridge, said: “Although other MS drugs have emerged over the last year, which is certainly good news for patients, none has shown superior effects on disability when compared to interferon except alemtuzumab.”
He told the BBC: “It is certainly the most effective MS drug, based on these clinical trials, but this is definitely not a cure.”
However, he warned there were side-effects. These include developing other immune disorders.
He said he thought the drug would be most useful for patients for whom standard treatment had failed and in a “minority” of patients as a first-choice drug.
Eventually relapsing-remitting MS can become progressive MS as the good spells become shorter and less frequent. The drug will have no effect on this form of the disease.
Expense fears
The drug has been withdrawn from the market in Europe and the USas the manufacturer, Genzyme, intends to have it licensed as a treatment for MS.
A Lancet editorial warns: “There is concern that with a licence for multiple sclerosis, the cost of alemtuzumab could rise and might become too expensive for many patients and health systems.
“Finding promising treatments such as alemtuzumab is important. But so is keeping alemtuzumab accessible and affordable.”
Dr Doug Brown, head of biomedical research at the MS Society, said: “These results are great news for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
“Alemtuzumab has been found to be an effective treatment for people with MS – but it’s only useful to them if it’s available on the NHS.
“We urge Genzyme to price the treatment responsibly so that if it’s licensed, it’s deemed cost-effective on the NHS.”
The company said it would not come up with a price for the drug “until it is approved by regulatory authorities” and that it would “engage constructively” with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which evaluates the cost-effectiveness of drugs for use in the NHS.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20151891
Leukemia Drug Is Highly Effective MS Treatment
Oct. 31, 2012 — Two new trials offer proof that a leukemia drug long used to treatmultiple sclerosis works better than a common treatment.
When compared with the widely used drug interferon beta, the leukemia drugalemtuzumab reduced relapse rates by half, researchers say.
Alemtuzumab Reverses Disability in Some
Alemtuzumab has been used to treat MS for close to two decades, but it has never been approved for this use. It is given by IV infusion.
The drug not only reduced relapses, but improved disability associated with MS, such as loss of coordination or difficulty walking, in some patients.
Side effects include infusion reactions, infections, and potentially serious autoimmune disorders. Patients taking it must be followed closely.
“In the menu of treatment choices for MS patients, I think alemtuzumab falls into the ‘high-reward, high-risk’ category,” says Alasdair Coles, MD, of Britain’s University of Cambridge, who led one of the newly published studies.
“No other drug has been shown to offer the benefits in terms of disability improvement that this drug shows,” he says. “It comes with problems, but these problems are manageable.”
400,000 MS Patients in U.S.
The National MS Society estimates that about 400,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and most (85%) have the relapsing-remitting form of the disease, in which symptoms come and go.
These symptoms can include loss of feeling, coordination, and mobility, problems with thinking and vision, and depression.
In one of the two newly published studies, University of Cambridge researchers followed 563 previously untreated patients treated with either alemtuzumab or interferon beta.
Two years later, 22% of the alemtuzumab-treated patients had relapsed, compared to 40% of those treated with interferon beta.
In the second study, which included 840 patients whose MS symptoms were not being controlled with other treatments, treatment with alemtuzumab was associated with 35% of patients relapsing over two years, compared to a 51% relapse rate among those treated with interferon beta.
Patients in this study were also less likely to have additional MS-related disabilities after two years when they took alemtuzumab; 13% had disabilities compared to 20% of interferon-treated patients.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/news/20121031/leukemia-drug-effective-ms-treatment
High vitamin D may prevent multiple sclerosis
Source: http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Nutrition/Vitamins/vitamin_d_multiple_sclerosis_1101120735.html
Multiple Sclerosis: New 'Most Effective' Drug
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