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Posted on 10/23/2008 7:32:31 AM PDT by balls
A drug developed to treat leukaemia may be a powerful new weapon against multiple sclerosis, researchers say.
Alemtuzumab appears to stop progression of the disease in patients with early stage active relapsing-remitting MS - the most common form of the condition.
The University of Cambridge study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, also suggests the drug may enable repair of previous damage.
However, it can produce potentially serious side-effects, they warn.
The ability of an MS drug to promote brain repair is unprecedented Dr Alasdair Coles University of Cambridge
And the researchers stress their work is still at an early stage.
Alemtuzumab - a type of drug known as a monoclonal antibody - was created at Cambridge in the late 1970s, and has long been used to treat leukaemia by killing off the cancerous white cells of the immune system.
The latest three-year study, of 334 patients with relapsing-remitting MS which had yet to be treated, found that the drug cut the number of attacks of disease by 74% more than the reduction achieved by conventional interferon-beta therapy.
Alemtuzumab also reduced the risk of sustained accumulation of disability by 71% compared to beta-interferon.
People on the trial who received the drug also recovered some function that had been thought to be permanently lost, and as a result were less disabled after three years than at the beginning of the study.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
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wow 3 yrs is a long time to wait if you think it might help someone you love.
U of M uses a lot of these experimental drugs in brain injuries. Sometimes they work. I’d LOVE to have our grandson try this. He lost oxygen during an anaphylactic shock after receiving an allergy shot a yr ago. This might help him recover some of the brain function.
ping
ping
thank you!
Let me ask this though: Every now and then I hear of new miracle drugs and treatments, and I've been hearing of them every since I could understand a segment on TV or an article in a newspaper. However, while these miracle approaches have promised revolutionary shunts in medicine, the reality has been the normal evolutionary shift. How come all these miracle cures that are supposed to change the world in a flash never materialize at the local hospital?
Your grandson is lucky to have a Grandmother like you, because you convert your caring feelings into helpful actions.
I want to note that this drugs works by turning off some of your immune system. Also, the study was done on people who had been newly diagnosed. Trials had been conducted on people in late stages of the disease but I did not see the data on that test group.
WHAT GREAT NEWS!! I have friend with MS and it’s so sad to see her decline when she was once so vibrant.
Damn evil pharmaceutical companies. /s
Making an informational promo video. Hope it isn’t too lame.
Learning iMovie as I go along
Simply put the amount of testing needed to be done on these drugs is incredible.
However it is ultimately necessary, without proper testing something extremely harmful could be put on the market.
I wish I remember the name of the weight loss drug that ended up breaking down the proton flow in ATP synthase and all the energy was instead released into the body. People were losing weight because energy couldnt be stored as fat anymore and instead was released as heat. They ended up dying of incredible fevers.
Ping.
bookmarked
http://hegemony.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/lose-weight-fast-or-how-to-kill-yourself-in-one-easy-step/
Now this is obviously a harmful substance but there are plenty of other things out there that can kill or harm you and we need to be absolutely sure new drugs are safe!
The FDA is one of the few govt programs I agree with and wouldn't mind expanding.
Also, Thalidomide, a drug from Britain for morning sickness, led to some severely deformed babies. IMO, extensive testing is a good idea.
Fantastic!
Botox for example. It’s not been ok’d by FDA for this purpose yet...but at U of M they use it for brain injured people who are severely contracted. And it works.
So sometimes a drug is used for one thing and they discover it works in another area
It's already approved so doctors can prescribe it now for off label use. It's expensive like most monoclonal antibodies, so insurance isn't likely to cover it.
I have MS, and I saw this story this morning. It still has Phase 3 trials to go, but the data looks good. However, if you read deep enough in the story, it looks like they might restrict it to a second line drug because of it’s side effects: thrombocytopenia, thryroid dysfunction, increased infection, etc. In other words, it will only be allowed for people who have been considered to have failed on one of the main drugs, i.e. Betaseron, Rebif, Avonex, or Copaxone. That is much the same way they’ve handled Tysabri.
There are some ‘miracle’ drugs at every ER in the US. The medications they use to help stop the damage done if administered asap after the onset of stroke symptoms. Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA). What a godsend :)
” it will only be allowed for people who have been considered to have failed on one of the main drugs, i.e. Betaseron, Rebif, Avonex, or Copaxone”
This is what sucks. I’ve been on Betaseron for years and am considered to be “doing well.” In that I’m fairly stable, although *slowly* declining. If there was something to reverse the damage, I would like to try it.
Another interesting idea being developed is the making of vaccines from the patient’s own blood to treat diseases. Not a new idea as I heard of it being tried experimentally ten or fifteen years ago to treat lymphoma.
According to the story on BBC radio, it will be generally avialable in about three years if the trials continue successfully. The researcher in the story says the side-effects can be easily treated if identified early.
Infusion Shows Promise in Treating RRMS, May Restore Some Function
Phase III trial of Alemtuzumab is enrolling now. October 24, 2008
Alemtuzumab, an investigational drug first developed to treat leukemia, has shown promise in stopping the progression of early-stage relapsing remitting MS (RRMS), and may allow previously damaged brain tissue to repair. The treatment comes along with potentially serious side effects, however, including the risk of developing other autoimmune conditions.
Results from a three-year analysis of a Phase II clinical trial of alemtuzumab as compared to interferon beta 1-a (Rebif) focused on 334 people who had not been previously treated for MS. Those taking alemtuzumab reduced their chance of relapse by 74 percent more than those taking Rebif and reduced their risk of sustained accumulated disability by nearly as much, according to data published in the Oct. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Some people also were less disabled after taking alemtuzumab and recovered lost function.
However, those taking alemtuzumab were more likely than those taking Rebif to experience infections. Some also developed other autoimmune conditions, including 20 percent who were diagnosed with thyroid disease during the trial. One person died of a rare complication, immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), which involves a low platelet count and risk of uncontrolled bleeding. If caught early, the condition is easily treatable. Other side effects included flu-like symptoms.
A patient monitoring program has been developed for the drug’s two international Phase III studies, which are enrolling now. The CARE-MS I Phase III study will again compare alemtuzumab to Rebif among those with RRMS who have not previously been treated for the condition. The trial is recruiting in Europe and the United States. For more information, call Genzyme Medical Information at (800) 745-4447.
Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that directs the body’s immune system to destroy certain cells. It is currently approved by the FDA as a single agent for the treatment of B-cell chronic lympocytic leukemia. It is administered through IV infusion.
But this is what I was talking about, from the BBC story the quote below about it only being used in certain cases:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7680641.stm
However, he said: “Alemtuzumab was associated with severe adverse events in a small proportion of the patients, suggesting that it would be unsuitable for any patient except those with very aggressive forms of the disease.”
The new drugs, like Tysabri, are only approved when the first line defenses (CRAB drugs, interferons and Copaxone) have failed and the disease is an aggressive case and progressing quickly. Many RRMS patients don’t find themselves in that situation, and so the drug would not be approved for them.
Please FReepmail me if you would like to be added to, or removed from, the Multiple Sclerosis ping list...
That is what is the widely accepted fact.
HOWEVER, a careful read of the package circular reveals that there is a giant loophole im it that you could drive a truckt through, something like,
“or secondary progressive patients who cannot tolerate other medications”.
Leaves the door fairly open for interpretation.
If one has Primary progressive, all the more reason to take chances, but that’s just me.
Bring it!
Oh wow, something else to pray for...should it be His will.
This is what sucks. I’ve been on Betaseron for years and am considered to be “doing well.” In that I’m fairly stable, although *slowly* declining. If there was something to reverse the damage, I would like to try it.
I hear and understand you. Rebif did nothing at all for me. I was having relapses every two weeks while on it. I was desperate to try Novantrone, which is a low-level chemotherapy.
But I have now been on Tysabri for 20 months with no relapses at all. I swear by it. It is the only thing for MS that has worked on me. November 3rd is my next IV date.
Genzyme stock up 2.31% today.
That was a quote from Professor Paul Matthews, of Imperial College, London. I think he was talking from a British National Health Service perspective. NHS only relatively recently allowed broad access to Avonex. They are driven by "cost/performance" and use different approval hurdles and are much more restrictive than the US. In the US, we have far better access to MS treatment.
But what do I know? Let's check with our doctors.
thanks, bfl
Reference bump. Thanks! :-)
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