New MS drug is 'most effective'

1 November 2012 Last updated at 05:03 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

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.

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.

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New MS drug is 'most effective'