Statement On University Of Cambridge Miltiple Sclerosis Drug Study

Main Category: Multiple Sclerosis
Article Date: 23 Oct 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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The MS Society has responded to today's embargoed announcement from the University of Cambridge relating to the alemtuzumab MS study results.

The study has found that alemtuzumab potentially stops MS from advancing in people with early stage active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and may also restore lost function caused by the condition. The findings will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Lee Dunster, head of research at the MS Society, said: "The MS Society has been following this trial closely and we are delighted that it has reported such positive results.

"This is the first drug that has shown the potential to halt and even reverse the debilitating effects of MS and this news will rightly bring hope to people living with the condition day in, day out.

"More work is needed to prove the drug's long-term effectiveness and we are very much looking forward to the results of the next stage of this important research, which is already underway."

- The MS Society is the UK's largest charity dedicated to supporting everyone whose life is touched by MS, providing respite care, an award-winning freephone helpline (+44(0)808-800-8000), specialist MS nurses and funds more than 50 vital MS research projects in the UK.

- Multiple sclerosis is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults and an estimated 85,000 people in the UK have MS.

- MS is the result of damage to myelin - the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres of the central nervous system - which interferes with messages between the brain and the body.

- For some people, MS is characterised by periods of relapse and remission while for others it has a progressive pattern.

- Symptoms range from loss of sight and mobility, fatigue, depression and cognitive problems. There is no cure and few effective treatments.

MS Society