Regaining vision lost to optic neuritis?

Based on preliminary investigations in laboratory animals with EAE, a study was done in a very small number of people with MS suggesting that immunoglobulin, or Ig (a preparation of immune-system proteins), promotes recovery of vision lost to optic neuritis.

The National MS Society funded a pilot study on this therapy, and now a full-scale three-year clinical trial is in progress at the Mayo Clinic at Rochester, Minnesota, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Related studies at Mayo are focused on the use of intravenous Ig to aid recovery of muscle strength.

The optic neuritis therapy involves intravenous infusions of Ig once a day for five days and then once a month for three months. The trial is pen to people whose eyesight grew worse than 20/40 in a recent bout of MS-associated optic neuritis and has not improved after six months.

While most costs are subsidized by the study, a required pre-enrollment consultation must be paid for by the prospective volunteer. For information, call 1-800-FIGHT-MS.

Linomide for Progressive MS

Merits a Large-Scale Study

In a preliminary clinical study in Israel, linomide, a chemical that stimulates production of key immune-system cells, performed better than a dummy drug in slowing the decline in function caused by secondary-progressive MS. This form of MS begins as relapsing-remitting but over time becomes steadily progressive. A multicenter trial in the U.S., sponsored by Pharmacia, a Swedish drug company, will start soon.

Will Treatment Make

Life Better?

To make informed decisions about any therapy, both doctors and people with MS need to know how best to balance clinical benefits, side effects, and quality of life. This topic is under study in several National MS Society-funded projects. A team at Frontier Science and Technology Research Foundation is adapting cancer and AIDS quality-of-life evaluations to MS; a questionnaire on abilities, pain, and other factors has been developed at UCLA; and ways to measure emotional well-being and the quality of life are being field-tested at four U.S. MS Centers.