It’s being heralded as a ‘new dawn’ for MS: Three new drugs have shown well in clinical trials; these would be the first significant medications that can be taken orally. A small trial using blood cord stem cells seems to be on to something. And the role of Vitamin D in MS is becoming clearer: high dose D answers the question why people in Canada get MS at so much a higher rate than those in Spain.
First the drugs: Fingolimod is an oral immune system modulator that in just-released Phase III trial data kept 80 to 83 percent of multiple sclerosis patients relapse-free after a year of daily treatment. Phase III trials are ongoing. Because fingolimod is a potent immune system dampener, patients will be carefully monitored; some cases of skin cancer have occurred in the early trials.
Another new oral med called laquinimod, now in Phase III trials, has already gotten a “fast track” designation from the FDA; the drug reduced MRI disease activity by a median of 60 percent compared with placebo. The drug does not turn down immunity; it therefore does not appear to have the side-effect worries the immune drugs have. Laquinimod appears to have a neuroprotective role. MSers are hoping this comes on the market in 2011.
A third drug, cladribine, is taken orally just a few times a year yet can significantly reduce the chances of a relapse, with very few side effects. A recent British study noted that those taking cladribine tablets were over 55 per cent less likely to suffer a relapse and 30 per cent less likely to suffer worsening in their disability due to MS (compared to those taking placebo). Says lead researcher Gavin Giovannoni of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, “These results are really exciting. Our study shows that cladribine tablets prevent relapses and slows down the progression of the disease making patients feel better. Importantly, it does so without the need for constant injections that are associated with unpleasant side effects.”
Stem cells: just out in the Summer 2009 edition of Multiple Sclerosis Quarterly Report, three patients improved neurologic function after recharging their immune systems by way of blood stem cell transplants. The study involves wiping out the immune system through chemotherapy or radiation, thus destroying most blood cells and bone marrow. Blood stem cells, from the patient or a matched donor, are then transplanted into the patient. These cells are believed to repopulate the bone marrow and remake all the cell types found in the blood. These are early results but show promise for treating the disease.
Vitamin D may be a major piece of the multiple sclerosis puzzle. It’s long been known that MS correlates to geography; the further from the equator, the higher the risk for MS. Why do people in Scotland, Canada and other northern countries have the highest incidence of multiple sclerosis in the world? According to several papers presented two weeks ago at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Seattle, it’s all about the sun and the sunshine vitamin D. Here are several conclusions reached by clinical experiments: Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for MS. Vitamin D has a protective effect against MS development. High doses of vitamin D reduce relapse rates in people who have multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D is cheap and easy to get.
Mad
