A hopeful clue for resistant MS.A small study provides a further clue that a chemotherapy drug--cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)--may stabilize some very active forms of MS that haven't responded to standard treatments. This immunosuppressive drug immunosuppressive drug, any of a variety of substances used to prevent production of antibodies. They are commonly used to prevent rejection by a recipient's body of an organ transplanted from a donor. reduces the number of immune cells in the body. In MS, this would theoretically slow down the immune attack Immune Attack is an educational video game created by the Federation of American Scientists and Brown University, in collaboration with the University of Southern California, under a grant from the National Science Foundation. on the brain and spinal cord spinal cord, the part of the nervous system occupying the hollow interior (vertebral canal) of the series of vertebrae that form the spinal column, technically known as the vertebral column. . The study involved 12 participants: 7 people with secondary-progressive and 5 with relapsing-remitting MS. All had severe MS that did not respond to other treatments. Each received the drug dose over 4 days. For two years after treatment, these people had periodic MRIs, neurologic exams Neurologic Exam Definition A neurological examination is an essential component of a comprehensive physical examination. It is a systematic examination that surveys the functioning of nerves delivering sensory information to the brain and caring motor , quality-of-life evaluations, and assessments using a scale that measures disability, called the EDSS EDSS Expanded Disability Status Scale EDSS Equine Digit Support System EDSS Executive Decision Support System EDSS Equipment Deployment and Storage System EDSS Electronic Document Storage System EDSS Electronic Data Storage System EDSS Electronic Document Submission System . The results: their MRIs showed no new areas of brain damage and no active inflammation. Walking, bladder control, and vision improved. Participants reported better quality of life. On the disability scale, 5 people lowered their scores and 7 had very small increases. No one was hospitalized for adverse effects after treatment. While the results of this very small study are encouraging, its success was based on only 12 people who met a narrow set of criteria. This type of aggressive immune suppression may not work for everyone with resistant MS and it comes with serious short- and long-term risks. Larger, controlled trials are vital to see if the risks can be minimized. These findings were reported in the October 2006 issue of Archives of Neurology The Archives of Neurology is a monthly professional medical journal published by the American Medical Association. Archives of Neurology publishes original, peer-reviewed scientific research of the nervous system as well as the various mechanisms of disease. . |
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