According to new research, Alemtuzumab (Lemtrada, Genzyme Corporation), a drug used to treat patients with multiple sclerosis, was found to reverse some of the physical manifestations caused by the deadly disease. Since it can cause serious antagonistic effects, alemtuzumab is generally used in patients who have not responded well to other MS drugs. However, in the new study, it was used relatively early in the course of MS.
Multiple sclerosis or MS is a demyelinating disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cell in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to communicate, resulting in a range of signs and symptoms, including physical, mental, and sometimes psychiatric problems.
"While many MS drugs slow the progress of disability, there have been little data about the ability of current treatments to help restore function previously lost to MS," said investigator Gavin Giovannoni, MD, Ph.D., of the Queen Mary University of London.
Alemtuzumab is a disease-modifying drug (DMD). DMDs are a group of treatments for people with relapsing-remitting MS, which reduce the number of relapses individuals experience, as well as reducing the severity of relapses. A study shows that it may improve some of the physical disability associated with the deadly disease.
According to Medical News Today, alemtuzumab kills certain types of cells - T and B cells - made by the immune system. The function of T and B cells is to attack viruses and bacteria in the body. However, in MS, these cells attack the covering around the nerves in the brain and spinal cord called myelin. Alemtuzumab prevents T and B cells entering the brain and spinal cord, thus stopping them damaging the nerves.
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable disease that attacks a person's central nervous system by disrupting the flow of information between the body and the brain. The cause of the disease remains unknown. But the treatment from the study might help to decrease the physical manifestations of the deadly disease.
