In trials, the experimental MS drug Fingolimod performed almost twice as well as existing, injected treatments, according to manufacturer Novartis.
Fingolimod showed a better than 50% reduction in the annual relapse rate in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. It halved symptoms and cut damage and inflammation to the nerves and brain by 80 per cent.
"We are very encouraged to see that the effects of Fingolimod in reducing both clinical relapses and inflammatory disease activity are maintained over 18 months," said Paul O’Connor, MD, St. Michael’s Institute, Toronto, Canada who presented the results at a conference of the American Association of Neurology.
The drug works by binding to the sphingosine 1-phosphate present on a proportion of circulating lymphocytes and reversibly trapping them in lymph nodes. This subsequently has the effect of reducing the number of activated circulating T-cells in the central nervous system and blood stream.
In MS, lymphocytes circulating the central nervous system attack the myelin sheath that surround and protects nerve fibres. Treatment with Fingolimod keeps lymphocytes in the lymph nodes. However, the lymphocytes remain functional and may still be activated within the lymph nodes as part of the immune response.
Source: New Pathways magazine Issue 38
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