Minimized disease activity with addition of steroids to MS treatment
The usage of a steroid drug for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) along with an MS drug can prove to be an effective option for reducing the amount of disease activity more than using the MS drugs alone, according to a study presented as a part of the Late-breaking Science Program at the American Academy of Neurology’s 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle.
From Sciencedaily.com:
For the study, people with MS received the steroid drug methylprednisolone in monthly “pulses,” or three doses over three days, in addition to regular weekly treatment with the drug interferon beta-1a. The steroid drug has typically been used only to treat acute MS attacks, not as an ongoing treatment.
The study involved 341 people with relapsing-remitting MS. Half of the participants received both drugs; half received only the interferon drug plus a placebo. The participants were seen every three months during the three-year study for evaluation.
The participants had the disease for an average of three years and had not yet received a disease-modifying drug such as interferon.
Those who received both drugs had 38 percent fewer relapses, or times when the disease is active, than those receiving only the interferon drug. They also improved slightly on a test of MS disability, while the scores for the placebo group decreased slightly.
It was remarked by study author Mads Ravnborg, MD, of the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Research Center at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, that results of the concerned study indicate that the two drugs offer synergy when taken together and provide a more advantageous effect on the disease activity.
Tags: methylprednisolone, MS drug, multiple sclerosis, steroid, steroid drug
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