From CBC News:
People with multiple sclerosis may someday have the option of taking a pill for the disease instead of the injections available now.
But the oral treatments under study also carry potentially dangerous side-effects, two new studies suggest.
The studies in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine suggest the oral drugs work to reduce relapses and deterioration of the neurodegenerative disease, which attacks the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms of MS include inflammation, paralysis and problems with speech, memory and concentration.
Current treatment therapies, which include the injection of drugs such as interferon, show good results but become tiresome for the patients in the long term, researchers say. ...more
Showing posts with label multiple sclerosis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label multiple sclerosis. Show all posts
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday, October 27, 2008
Leukemia drug may stop progression of MS symptoms
From CTV News:
There is new hope for patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis, as a drug initially developed to treat a form of leukemia may stop the progression of the debilitating neurological disease.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have found that alemtuzumab not only halts the advancement of multiple sclerosis (MS), but it may also restore some function lost by patients.
MS is an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the insulation that covers nerve fibres in the central nervous system.
This causes the nerves to malfunction and then die off, which results in a number of physical and intellectual disabilities.
In the study, the drug reduced the risk of developing disabilities by 71 per cent compared to the common drug treatment for MS, interferon beta-1a. ...more
There is new hope for patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis, as a drug initially developed to treat a form of leukemia may stop the progression of the debilitating neurological disease.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have found that alemtuzumab not only halts the advancement of multiple sclerosis (MS), but it may also restore some function lost by patients.
MS is an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the insulation that covers nerve fibres in the central nervous system.
This causes the nerves to malfunction and then die off, which results in a number of physical and intellectual disabilities.
In the study, the drug reduced the risk of developing disabilities by 71 per cent compared to the common drug treatment for MS, interferon beta-1a. ...more
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
When an orphan drug is a patient's only hope
From the Globe and Mail:
Denise Halpenny's biggest fear is losing use of her left hand when she quits taking the drug for multiple sclerosis that she can no longer afford.
She and her husband Scott, a high school teacher, have struggled with the possibility. They've decided that if her hand goes, the mother of three will have to leave their family home here and move into a long-term care facility.
Multiple sclerosis, which struck Halpenny in 1986, has already robbed her of her ability to walk and taken away use of her right arm.
"Things will change dramatically for me," she said, fighting to hold back tears.
What frustrates the 49-year-old as much as the disease are bureaucratic rules that mean she has to come up with the money for the drug Zenapax, although the cost is equivalent to other MS drugs that are covered by the province. ...more
Denise Halpenny's biggest fear is losing use of her left hand when she quits taking the drug for multiple sclerosis that she can no longer afford.
She and her husband Scott, a high school teacher, have struggled with the possibility. They've decided that if her hand goes, the mother of three will have to leave their family home here and move into a long-term care facility.
Multiple sclerosis, which struck Halpenny in 1986, has already robbed her of her ability to walk and taken away use of her right arm.
"Things will change dramatically for me," she said, fighting to hold back tears.
What frustrates the 49-year-old as much as the disease are bureaucratic rules that mean she has to come up with the money for the drug Zenapax, although the cost is equivalent to other MS drugs that are covered by the province. ...more
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Cancer drug slows multiple sclerosis progression
From the Guardian (UK):
Two infusions of the cancer drug Rituxan given two weeks apart slowed the progression of multiple sclerosis for nearly a year, researchers reported on Wednesday.
And Rituxan appears to be twice as effective as first-line treatments for MS, which reduce the number of relapses by about a third, the researchers said.
"It's quite remarkable that the effect was sustained for 48 weeks with just a single course of therapy," said Dr. Stephen Hauser of the University of California at San Francisco, who worked on the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Multiple sclerosis, which affects as many as 350,000 people in the United States and 2 million worldwide, is apparently caused when the immune system attacks and breaks down the insulation surrounding cells that make up the brain and spinal cord. ...more
Two infusions of the cancer drug Rituxan given two weeks apart slowed the progression of multiple sclerosis for nearly a year, researchers reported on Wednesday.
And Rituxan appears to be twice as effective as first-line treatments for MS, which reduce the number of relapses by about a third, the researchers said.
"It's quite remarkable that the effect was sustained for 48 weeks with just a single course of therapy," said Dr. Stephen Hauser of the University of California at San Francisco, who worked on the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Multiple sclerosis, which affects as many as 350,000 people in the United States and 2 million worldwide, is apparently caused when the immune system attacks and breaks down the insulation surrounding cells that make up the brain and spinal cord. ...more
Monday, February 18, 2008
Pot may impair mental function in MS patients
From CTV News:
Patients with multiple sclerosis who choose to smoke marijuana to help relieve some of their symptoms may be harming their cognitive abilities, finds new Canadian research.
The researchers, with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, say they found that MS patients who regularly smoked pot appeared to have more difficulties with processing information and short-term verbal memory.
Study author Dr. Anthony Feinstein says MS patients should be aware of the risks of pot, because many are already dealing with cognitive problems.
"The significance of this finding is particularly important because MS is itself a cause of neuropsychological impairment in 40 to 65 per cent of patients, and therefore this research suggests that smoking marijuana may only be worsening the problem," Feinstein said in a statement. ...more
Patients with multiple sclerosis who choose to smoke marijuana to help relieve some of their symptoms may be harming their cognitive abilities, finds new Canadian research.
The researchers, with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, say they found that MS patients who regularly smoked pot appeared to have more difficulties with processing information and short-term verbal memory.
Study author Dr. Anthony Feinstein says MS patients should be aware of the risks of pot, because many are already dealing with cognitive problems.
"The significance of this finding is particularly important because MS is itself a cause of neuropsychological impairment in 40 to 65 per cent of patients, and therefore this research suggests that smoking marijuana may only be worsening the problem," Feinstein said in a statement. ...more
Monday, December 10, 2007
Treatment using antibiotic may help slow MS
From CTV News:
An experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis that uses an antibiotic along with a common MS medication may slow the progress of the disease, finds a preliminary study set to appear in the February 2008 issue of Archives of Neurology.
The treatment involved combining doxycycline and interferon, a commonly prescribed MS medication that boosts the immune system and fights viruses.
Many patients with relapsing-remitting MS -- the most common form of the disease -- take interferon, but many still experience relapses and may continue to develop new areas of damaged brain tissue called lesions, one of the key markers of MS. ...more
An experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis that uses an antibiotic along with a common MS medication may slow the progress of the disease, finds a preliminary study set to appear in the February 2008 issue of Archives of Neurology.
The treatment involved combining doxycycline and interferon, a commonly prescribed MS medication that boosts the immune system and fights viruses.
Many patients with relapsing-remitting MS -- the most common form of the disease -- take interferon, but many still experience relapses and may continue to develop new areas of damaged brain tissue called lesions, one of the key markers of MS. ...more
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Drug body's advice against provinces paying for MS drugs seen as unfair
From the Canadian Press:
An expert panel's advice that provinces and territories not cover the cost of two Multiple Sclerosis drugs creates a system of two-tiered care, MS advocates say.
They view the recommendation as leaving people with the disease, who don't have private drug insurance, unable to afford medication that could slow progression of the condition and ease the pain they suffer.
Late last month, the Common Drug Review advised that governments not put the MS pain medication Sativex on the list of medicines that provincial and territorial drug plans cover for eligible people. That follows a "do not list" recommendation issued in the spring for Tysabri, a drug that slows progression of the disease.
Those decisions put these drugs out of reach for many people with MS, an expert and a spokesperson for the MS Society argue. ...more
An expert panel's advice that provinces and territories not cover the cost of two Multiple Sclerosis drugs creates a system of two-tiered care, MS advocates say.
They view the recommendation as leaving people with the disease, who don't have private drug insurance, unable to afford medication that could slow progression of the condition and ease the pain they suffer.
Late last month, the Common Drug Review advised that governments not put the MS pain medication Sativex on the list of medicines that provincial and territorial drug plans cover for eligible people. That follows a "do not list" recommendation issued in the spring for Tysabri, a drug that slows progression of the disease.
Those decisions put these drugs out of reach for many people with MS, an expert and a spokesperson for the MS Society argue. ...more
Monday, October 29, 2007
Study to probe whether acne drug can slow MS
From CTV News:
Researchers in Calgary are preparing to begin a new study to see whether a commonly available acne medication could help delay the crippling effects of multiple sclerosis.
The medication, called minocycline, has been available for over 30 years. If it's proven effective in delaying the progress of MS, it could offer an inexpensive option for the treatment of early stages of the disease.
A small study on 10 patients a few years ago yielded promising results. Now, clinical researchers in 14 Canadian centres will be taking an in-depth look at the drug in a $4-million, two-year study funded by the MS Society of Canada.
Minocycline is a prescription antibiotic used to control acne by killing the germs that prompt outbreaks. But the drug also offers anti-inflammatory properties, which researchers believe are responsible for its ability to slow the progress of MS. ...more
Researchers in Calgary are preparing to begin a new study to see whether a commonly available acne medication could help delay the crippling effects of multiple sclerosis.
The medication, called minocycline, has been available for over 30 years. If it's proven effective in delaying the progress of MS, it could offer an inexpensive option for the treatment of early stages of the disease.
A small study on 10 patients a few years ago yielded promising results. Now, clinical researchers in 14 Canadian centres will be taking an in-depth look at the drug in a $4-million, two-year study funded by the MS Society of Canada.
Minocycline is a prescription antibiotic used to control acne by killing the germs that prompt outbreaks. But the drug also offers anti-inflammatory properties, which researchers believe are responsible for its ability to slow the progress of MS. ...more
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