New treatment for stiff person syndrome

[Guest guest]

Immunotherapy Treatment Shows Dramatic Results For

Rare

Neurological Disorder

BETHESDA, MD (NIH) -- An immunologic therapy,

intravenous

immunoglobulin (IVIg), administered to patients

suffering from

stiff person syndrome (SPS), provides dramatic relief

from

disabling symptoms, according to a study appearing in

the

December 27, 2001, issue of 'The New England Journal

of

Medicine.' The study's principal author, Marinos C.

Dalakas,

M.D., chief of the Neuromuscular Diseases Section of

the National

Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, says

that the

success of the treatment supports the theory that SPS

is the

result of an autoimmune response gone awry in the

brain and

spinal cord.

http://ipn.intelihealth.com/IPN/ihtIPN?st=23883 & t=7223 & c=344269

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