A new study, conducted at Walton Neurological Centre in Liverpool, revealed that a new drug treatment reduces the relapse rate by 90% in patients suffering from the aggressive form of MS(Multiple Scelrosis). In other words, the patients who were leading bedridden lives till now due to MS will be able to live normally again thanks to the new “miracle” drug.
The study, due to be published in August's Journal of Neurology, was conducted on 27 patients suffering from acute MS.
The patients were tested with a powerful and potentially toxic anti-cancer drug used in chemotherapy viz., Mitoxantrone along with the slow-acting drug Copaxone that is already used for treating MS patients, in order to have a combined powerful effect.
Shedding some more light on the research, Dr. Mike Boggild, consultant neurologist and lead researcher at Walton Neurological Centre in Liverpool, said: "This regime has proved remarkably effective in a group of patients with early MS and a poor prognosis.”
"Though there are certain risks, associated particularly with the use of Mitoxantrone, we have been able to limit these by using this agent for just a short induction period. Balanced against the high risk of early disability for these patients, the outcomes appear to justify this approach.”
"The effect is so striking that we suspect the two drugs may be acting synergistically," he added.
A three-year full study is being initiated at ten centres across the UK as a result of the success of the breakthrough initial study lead by Dr Mike Boggild.
The pioneering drug treatment has brought a ray of hope in the lives of nearly 85,000 people suffering from MS in the UK.
