MS Article in CBC News in Canada

[Guest guest]

Was reading the following article about Multiple Sclerosis last evening online

on the Canadian news service CBC. I left a comment below at the end of this

article, about low dose naltrexone. I also have been to a Fibromyalgia support

group and a chronic pain support group in London Ontario Canada to spread the

good word about LDN.

MS pill studies show better results, more risks

Last Updated: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 | 8:08 PM ET Comments7Recommend9CBC

News

People with multiple sclerosis may someday have the option of taking a pill for

the disease instead of the injections available now.

But the oral treatments under study also carry potentially dangerous

side-effects, two new studies suggest.

The studies in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine suggest the oral drugs

work to reduce relapses and deterioration of the neurodegenerative disease,

which attacks the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms of MS include inflammation,

paralysis and problems with speech, memory and concentration.

'The studies in this issue of the Journal provide a new horizon for patients

with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.'

— Dr. Carroll Current treatment therapies, which include the injection

of drugs such as interferon, show good results but become tiresome for the

patients in the long term, researchers say.

This leads some patients to look to oral treatments, even with some increased

risk, said Dr. Jock Murray, a neurologist at Dalhousie University's MS research

centre in Halifax.

One of the new studies tested cladribine, made by Merck Serono, which is already

sold to treat a rare blood cancer. The other tested fingolimod, a daily MS pill

being developed by Novartis.

The two-year study of cladribine involved 1,300 people with multiple sclerosis.

Half got the pill, the other half a placebo. Those taking the drug were half as

likely to relapse and 30 per cent less likely to have worsening disability, Dr.

Gavin Giovannoni of Queen University in London and his colleagues found.

Side-effect questions

Between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of those taking cladribine developed low

white blood-cell counts, and there also were more cases of shingles, the study

found.

The second study, by Dr. Cohen of the Neurologic Institute in Cleveland

and colleagues, followed 1,200 MS patients, who were given either fingolimod or

an injection of interferon, the standard treatment.

There was less brain shrinkage, a sign of worsening disease, among those taking

fingolimod. About 20 per cent of those taking the pill had relapses compared

with 30 per cent for the injection group. There were also more shingles cases in

the fingolimod group.

Nine per cent of those on fingolimod had serious side-effects, compared with six

per cent for the interferon. Two people on fingolimod died of herpes infections

and eight had skin cancers. There were also more heart problems in the

fingolimod group. For instance, 2.7 per cent had bradycardia or a slow heart

rate, compared with 0.7 per cent for the standard treatment.

" As with other new therapies for MS, there are better results but increased

risks, " Murray said.

Treatment options

Until the side-effects of cladribine and fingolimod are better understood,

doctors will likely continue using injection treatments, said Dr. Neil Lava, the

director of Emory University's multiple sclerosis clinic.

An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine accompanying the research

welcomed the findings.

" The studies in this issue of the Journal provide a new horizon for patients

with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and a welcome increase in the range

of treatment options, " wrote Dr. Carroll of Sir Gairdner

Hospital in Perth, Australia.

The two drugs work in different ways by targeting T cells, which are involved in

the immune system's attack on myelin — the protective coating around nerve cells

that becomes damaged in multiple sclerosis.

Cladribine causes active T cells to undergo apoptosis, the most common type of

cell death. Fingolimod causes a receptor on the surface of T cells to stop

working properly, so the cells can no longer respond to signals directing them

to attack nerves in MS.

The pills for MS will not be available immediately, Murray said, because they

have not been approved by regulators in the United States or Canada. If approved

in Canada, provincial funding for the drugs would be another step.

Merck Serono filed for U.S. approval in late November. Novartis said in

mid-December that its FDA filing for fingolimod was imminent.

Each company financed the studies of their drugs. Authors involved in each study

reported receiving fees from drug companies.

With files from The Associated Press Post a comment

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Story comments (7)

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gumhead wrote:

Posted 2010/01/21

at 12:03 AM ET Low dose naltrexone is another option for MS patients and other

patients with autoimmune disease. It is a medication that has been around for

decades with extremely minor side effects. It slows the progression of MS and

often treats symptoms as well. There is a grassroots movement world wide to

bring this drug to the attention of doctors so this will be prescribed as a

first line treatment for MS and autoimmune diseases, before prescribing

medications with severe side effects. A petition has recently been brought to 10

Downing Street with 13,000 signatures in favor of LDN (low dose naltrexone).

They are petitioning the UK government to have this medication covered by the

NHS (National Health Service). For more information, visit www.ldn.org

[Guest guest]

The interesting thing about these drugs is that the proposed mechanism by which

they function involves the destruction of T cells. The implication is that MS is

the result of " molecular mimicry, " in which the immune system is combating an

intruder, and (unfortunately) part of that intruder sufficiently resembles the

body's own tissues, resulting in autoimmune attack.

In the case of MS, it's probably Chlamydia pneumoniae; in the case of Crohn's,

it's probably Klebsiella pneumoniae. (No relationship- just a lousy

coincidence.)

Interestingly, if MS starts in the gut (one reason why selective diets seem to

help, not to mention the effect of naltrexone- patching up the gut in MS as well

as Crohn's disease), it is conceivable that the efficacy of these T-cell

ablation therapies would be markedly more effective if combined with a low-carb

diet.

-AJ

> Posted 2010/01/21

> at 12:03 AM ET Low dose naltrexone is another option for MS patients and other

patients with autoimmune disease. It is a medication that has been around for

decades with extremely minor side effects. It slows the progression of MS and

often treats symptoms as well. There is a grassroots movement world wide to

bring this drug to the attention of doctors so this will be prescribed as a

first line treatment for MS and autoimmune diseases, before prescribing

medications with severe side effects. A petition has recently been brought to 10

Downing Street with 13,000 signatures in favor of LDN (low dose naltrexone).

They are petitioning the UK government to have this medication covered by the

NHS (National Health Service). For more information, visit www.ldn.org

>