New Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis Offers Promising Results

Rib diagram of the fab fragment of Alemtuzumab drug. Credit: Wikipedia (public domain)

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

A new drug to fight multiple sclerosis (MS) is showing promise as one of the most effective treatment options ever produced for the debilitating disease, according to UK researchers.

The drug, which is used to reboot a persons immune system, has been shown to be effective in MS patients who have already failed to respond to the first drug with which they were treated, as well as those who have gone previously untreated.

The promising results of two phase III clinical trials on the new treatment were published today in the journal The Lancet.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, said this could have significant implications for the some 100,000 people known to have MS in the United Kingdom. Most people diagnosed with MS have the relapsing-remitting version of the disease, in which symptoms can seem to disappear for a time, before suddenly returning.

Now, they believe the drug Alemtuzumab, which is used for the treatment of leukemia, may be a beneficial treatment for MS.

In leukemia, the drug controls the excess production of white blood cells. In MS patients, the drug has been found to eliminate these cells entirely, forcing a new immune system to be built from scratch which should not attack the nerves.

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, said Dr. Alasdair Coles, of Cambridge. No other treatment has led to improvements in disability.

It is certainly the most effective MS drug, based on these clinical trials, but this is definitely not a cure, Coles told the BBCs James Gallagher.

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New Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis Offers Promising Results