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10 Things Your Primary Care Doctor Does That Should Make You Run for the Hills
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Dr Orrange received her BA in Biology at the University of California San Diego and a Masters Degree in Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health She received her MD from the USC Keck School of…
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New Medication that may help Multiple Sclerosis Patients
This may be an exciting development in the struggle against Multiple Sclerosis. The drug fampridine improves walking ability in some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and seems to be well-tolerated in patients with all disease course types of MS, authors reported in the February 28th edition of The Lancet.
What is the problem? In MS patients with a progressive decline in mobility there aren't many great options other than physical therapy. It has been suggested that treatment with fampridine may improve visual function, strength, walking ability, fatigue, and endurance in people with MS.
How much do we know about this medication? Initially tested in spinal cord injury patients, fampridine is an investigational oral, sustained-release formulation of 4-aminopyridine. Fampridine has been found to improve impulse conduction in nerve fibers in which the insulating layer, called myelin, has been damaged.
What is this new study using fampridine in MS patients? The current study took MS patients from 33 centers in the US and Canada and assessed the efficacy and safety of slow-release fampridine on walking ability and leg strength. 301 patients aged 18-70 years were randomized to receive either fampridine or placebo for 14 weeks. Patients were assessed for walking speed and completed questions about their perception of difficulties they were having in walking.
What did this study find? Findings showed that MS patients achieved a faster walking speed when they were on treatment than with placebo. Improvement in leg strength was also greater in fampridine-treated patients than in people on placebo. Further, patients on fampridine reported an improvement in their perception of how well they were walking.
What could this mean? Treatment with fampridine produces clinically meaningful improvement in walking ability in some people with multiple sclerosis, irrespective of disease course, type or concomitant treatment with immunomodulators.
The science of this is so cool and this could be great news. As always, we need more studies to be sure it is safe and effective in MS patients. Also, to head off comments I know are coming: I do not and never have received any money from a pharmaceutical company, and I don't own stock in the drug company that makes this drug (Acorda).....though I kind of wish I had :)
Dr O.
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Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
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Thank You , Paula
thank you so much
nancy (stuckinatree)
On April 20, 2009, I will join 20,000 runners for the historic Boston Marathon. I will run 26.2 miles to raise money for the National MS Society. This effort has a personal meaning to me because my mother was diagnosed with MS over a decade ago and has enjoyed a normal quality of life due to medicines and treatments which are a result of efforts made in part by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This year’s goal is to raise $30,000 and I want to do my part to reach that goal. To make a donation, you can simply visit my team’s webpage and click on my name (Jason Magurno) to make a donation. The website address is: http://eventnyn.nationalmssociety....
or mail a check (made payable to "Run MS NYC") to:
National MS Society-NYC Chapter
Attn: Run MS
733 Third Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10017
Please make sure to put my name and the Boston Marathon in the memo section of your check.
The National MS Society believes that moving is not just something you can or can’t do but, rather, is who you are. Run to Stop MS raises funds for critical research, as well as comprehensive programs and services for people with MS, moving closer toward a world free of MS. When you donate, you become a part of the powerful movement that is doing something about MS Now.
Many thanks in advance for your generous support.
Thank you for reading,
Jason Magurno
Thanks for keeping us informed doc!
Best to everyone.
When I was first Dx, my neuro asked me to get in his study, 2 years later I found out I was on the placebo, If I knew then what I know now!!!