There are three types of Disease Modifying Drugs (DMDs) used in the treatment of MS. These are:

• Beta interferon - which comes in two forms, Beta interferon 1a and Beta interferon 1b
• Glatiramer acetate ( Copaxone)
• Tysabri (natalizumab)

To learn more about each of the drugs available please go to Disease Modifying Drugs

To find out more about ongoing research with each of these drugs please go to  - Disease Modifying Drugs Ongoing Research

To find out general news about Disease Modifying Drugs please go to Disease Modifying Drugs Ongoing News

Tysabri^® User Diaries
To aid those who may have been prescribed Tysabri^® or those thinking of asking their Neurologist to prescribe Tysabri^® we at the MSRC have enlisted the help of a number of people with MS who are now currently taking Tysabri^® to provide some insight into how they went about getting given the drug and how the monthly infusions have changed, or not, their condition via their Tysabri^® User Diaries

If you are currently taking Tysabri^®, and would like to join our panel of "Diarists" please contact the MSRC Webmaster at squiffy@msrc.co.uk

Since 2002 the UK Government has run a Risk-Sharing Scheme For Disease Modifying Treatments For MS (Beta Interferon 1a & 1b and Glatiramer acetate)  in conjunction with the pharamceutical companies supplying the drugs and the UK Health Authorities.

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The present efficacy of multiple sclerosis therapeutics: Is the new 66% just the old 33%?

Many authorities, and of course the drug companies responsible, promote Tysabri as being more effective than standard disease modifying drugs (DMDs) like Betaferon (Betaseron) and Copaxone.

Klawiter and Cross, in the journal Neurology, argue that the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) with Tysabri means that we have to examine this much more rigorously.

In their paper, entitled 'The present efficacy of multiple sclerosis therapeutics: is the new 66% just the old 33%?' (referring to the supposed better performance of Tysabri in relapse rate reduction than standard DMDs), they argue that because patient populations were markedly different in the trials, with patients with more benign illness in the Tysabri trials, the improved performance of Tysabri may be just an illusion, and it may in fact be comparable in efficacy with the DMDs.

ABSTRACT
A challenge for the clinician treating patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is to determine the most
effective treatment while weighing the benefits and risks. Results of the phase 2 and phase 3
studies on natalizumab were received with great interest, in part due to the “improved” risk reduction
for relapse rate, disease progression, and MRI metrics observed in comparison to results in
trials of beta-interferon and glatiramer acetate. However, comparison across trials is invalid, in
large part due to differences in the study populations. The increased efficacy observed in more
recent trials has also been attributed to a fundamental change in subjects with MS enrolled in
recent trials compared with the prior decade. In this article, we debate the relative efficacy of
natalizumab vs the older injectable therapies.

Eric C. Klawiter, MD; Anne H. Cross, MD; Robert T. Naismith,MD

Sources: Neurology® 2009;73:984–990 & Taking Control Of Multiple Sclerosis (23/11/09)

© Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre