Posted on 04/30/2009 2:31:00 AM PDT by Schnucki
Courses of a common cancer drug can dramatically reduce the risk of a patient with multiple sclerosis having a relapse or deterioration, work shows.
Taking cladribine a few times a year more than halved the chances of a relapse, with few side-effects, the UK study of 1,300 patients found.
UK expert Professor Gavin Giovannoni said the drug could revolutionise the treatment of MS.
Its manufacturer Merck Serono hopes to seek licensing for its use this year.
The drug is already licensed for treating leukaemia.
Prof Giovannoni gave his assessment of its potential value to MS patients at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle.
The UK's drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, is considering including cladribine in its next round of assessments.
Cladribine works by suppressing the immune system, reducing the risk of further damage to a patient's nervous system.
Patients who took the drug were 30% less likely to suffer worsening in their disability due to MS.
Easy to take
The study involved over 1,300 MS patients who were followed up for nearly two years and monitored using MRI scans.
Patients were given either two or four treatment courses of cladribine tablets per year, or a placebo.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
PING
I’m boggled that people still fall for things like the Klenner protocol for MS.
I get tired of receiving emails from certain friends recommending everything from vitamins to anti-fungal diets. They all claim to have found the “cure” for my MS and if I’d only do “x, y, or z”....I could get rid of the MS.
That’s not to say I don’t take vitamins, in fact I’ve been on 50,000 units of D once a week, because my D levels were so low (which is pretty common in MS patients...I wonder about the “chicken or the egg” scenario with low D levels)
But, I guess they (the friends sending the emails) figure they’re helping...which they aren’t, LOL.
The FDA will make sure you don’t see it in the US for at least 20 years.
I know what you mean. I wasted hundreds of dollars on Xango just to please my wife because someone conned her into believing it was a miricle cure.
I’ve been on 5 different medications including 2 study drugs and the only thing that has worked is a new drug called Fingolimod. Unfortunately they found a mild spot of skin cancer and dropped me from the study. Now I’ve got at least 2 years before FDA approval. Back to more drugs with more needles that don’t work.
I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve had good success with Betaseron. My neuro said she’s found that 25% of people it does no good for, 50% if helps some, and 25% are “super responders.” I must be a super responder. My MRI looks better than when I was diagnosed, and I have accummulated some disability, even while on it, but nothing drastic. I also seem to have no side effects, except for site reactions, so I’m sticking with the Beta.
Did you try Tysabri? I keep reading great things from people that are on it, although I know skin cancer also may make that drug contraindicated.
“I’m boggled that people still fall for things like the Klenner protocol for MS.”
Where in the published medical literature has it ever been refuted?
Dr Klenner was a Duke University Med school grad, and said he could reliably cure MS. What is the evidence that he was mistaken?
““I’m boggled that people still fall for things like the Klenner protocol for MS.””
“Where in the published medical literature has it ever been refuted?”
I’m disappointed that anyone would mock a distinguished American physican, without being able to present the slightest evidence to back up their claim. Zero! ( does that remind you of someone?)
Dr. Fred Klenner was a graduate of the Duke University medical school, and was a Fellow of The American College of Chest Physicians; Fellow & Diplomate: The International College of Applied Nutrition; Fellow: The American Association for the Advancment of Science; Fellow: The American College of Angiology; Fellow: The American Academy of Family Practice; Fellow: The Royal Society of Health (London); Fellow (Honorary): The International Academy of Preventive and Orthomolecular Medicine; Fellow: International College of Angiology; and Founder-Fellow: American Geriatrics Society.
In the “Conclusions” of his 1973 paper he states the following:
“We categorically make this statement: Any victim of Multiple Sclerosis who will dramatically flush with the use of nicotinic acid, and who has not yet progressed to the stage of myelin degeneration, as witnessed by sustained ankle clonus elicited in the orthodox manner, can be cured with the adequate employment of Thiamin Hydrochloride and other factors of the Vitamin B Complex in conjunction with essential proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and injectable crude liver. If sustained ankle clonus is not bilateral, then it is not a deterrent. We have had patients who did demonstrate bilateral sustained ankle clonus, and who were in wheelchairs, and who returned to normal activities after 5 to 8 years of treatment.”
If anyone has scientific evidence that Dr Klenner was mistaken, please present it. Otherwise please show his great achievements the respect they merit.
Anyone who prefers taking drugs to vitamins, that is your privilege. Let’s always maintain the freedom of all of us to decide for ourselves.
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