Posted by Alan F. Bachrach, M.D. on December 05, 1997 at 00:36:22:
In Reply to: Re: MS in the news posted by Sandra Silvestri on December 04, 1997 at 22:49:18:
Dear Sandra,
As you may know, I am a practicing neurologist. I have heard nothing about a cure for M.S. I attended a small dinner forum about two weeks ago with Dr. Hillel Panitch of the University of Maryland. Dr. Panitch is a nationally known M.S. researcher, and two of the neurimmunology fellows from Vanderbilt were also in attendance. There was no mention of a hot new finding of a "cure." The cause of M.S. is not known. The disease is thought to be autoimmune but the agent/event which initiates the disease is unknown. Also unknown is why some patients have a relatively benign course while others are affected terribly. I have both types in my practice. There is a genetic component but probably relatively small since the concordance rate for siblings is fairly low. We currently have three agents approved for use in the U.S. for reducing the frequency of exacerbations and hopefully reducing/retarding the progression of disease. These agents are Betaseron and Avonex which are similar forms of Beta Inteferon and Copaxone. All are terribly expensive, costing about 9 - 10 k per year and none are a magic bullet. High dose intravenous steroids have been shown to be helpful in causing the remission of an acute exacerbation, but in the long run steroids (such as prednisone) can cause horrible side effects. Everything else is pretty much empirical. Immuran is widely used in Europe but there are no studies clearly supporting its efficacy. Cytoxan has also been used but the side effects are prohibitive. Like diabetes, M.S. is a disease with many unknowns and limited treatments. The future for these patients is uncertain and it typically strikes young adults. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has local offices around the country which offer many services and I believe a newsletter with pretty up to date information about up and coming therapies. There is also at least one M.S. website (search Multiple Sclerosis).
Alan