PARIS: A drug initially developed to treat some types of cancer now appears to
help people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), a study said Thursday.
The drug, alemtuzumab, proved
effective in patient trials at reducing relapses -- a key feature of MS which
sees symptoms appear sporadically.
In one trial, patients who
received the drug "were nearly half as likely to relapse within two years
than those who received interferon", the most commonly-used MS drug, said
a statement by The Lancet medical journal which published the research.
A second trial had similar
results.
The outcome "offers the
prospect of substantial improvement in quality of life and a better future for
thousands of people with MS," said Alastair Compston from the University
of Cambridge, principal investigator on both studies.
Many MS patients already use
alemtuzumab, even though it has not been licenced for this purpose.
Both trials were Phase III, which
is the final testing stage in a process to vet a new drug. Together, the two
involved some 1,400 patients.
About 100,000 people in Britain
and about 400,000 in the United States are believed to suffer from MS, which
sees the immune system attacking the body's own nerve fibres.
This affects vision, movement,
balance, sensation, bladder control and eventually also memory and thinking.
About 85 percent of patients
start with a form of the disease known as "relapsing remitting" MS,
with symptoms appearing sporadically (a relapse) before fading away again.
There is no cure, and existing
drugs seek to reduce symptoms, said the statement. Success of a drug is
measured by a reduction in the frequency of relapses.
The researchers found that
alemtuzumab, licenced to treat leukaemia, appeared to increase the risk of
certain auto-immune disorders, particularly those affecting the thyroid, but
said these could be treated effectively.
The Lancet, in an editorial, said
the results were encouraging but added that there were concerns that licencing
the drug for MS may lead to a rise in cost.
"More effective, affordable,
evidence-based treatments with long-term benefits are desperately needed,"
it said.
"Finding promising
treatments such as alemtuzumab is important. But so is keeping alemtuzumab
accessible and affordable if its early success in these trials proves to be of
enduring value."
Regulatory authorities in the US
and Europe are likely to approve the drug for MS use during the course of 2013,
according to University of Cambridge spokeswoman Genevieve Maul.
- AFP/jc
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