Possible medication for multiple sclerosis completes phase II trial
Americans who need to save money on their medical bills can purchase their medicine through an online Canadian pharmacy, many of which sell the same drugs available in the U.S., but at a discount.
Americans who need to save money on their medical bills can purchase their medicine through an online Canadian pharmacy, many of which sell the same drugs available in the U.S., but at a discount. Novel medications that are currently in the developmental stages may one day be available as well, including a new treatment that may help patients who have multiple sclerosis (MS).
Individuals with MS have an immune system that attacks the myelin sheaths that insulate their neurons, a condition that may interfere with the transmission of nerve signals between the brain and body. Researchers from the University of California in San Francisco recently completed a phase II trial on the drug Ocrelizumab. For their experiment, they divided 220 MS patients into four groups of separate, 24-week regimens: two received varying doses of the drug, one received the standard MS treatment of interferon-beta and the last took placebos.
After 24 weeks, patients on Ocrelizumab had 89 percent fewer lesions forming in their nervous system and fewer "attacks" of symptoms such as weakness or lack of coordination or vision. They also fared better than the groups on placebos or interferon, as published in The Lancet.
Furthermore, because Ocrelizumab affects the immune system's B-cells, the experiment suggests that this class of white blood cells plays a major role in the development of MS.
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