MS drug and steroids can reduce disease activity considerably
The addition of steroid drugs to multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment can significantly reduce disease activity 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.
Study author Mads Ravnborg, MD, of the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Research Center at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, was of the view that the study results suggested the fact that the two drugs, MS drug and steroid drug, bring synergy and offer an improved beneficial effect on the disease activity as against use of the MS drug in isolation.
Tags: methylprednisolone, MS drug, multiple sclerosis, steroid, steroid drug
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