Posted by: Megan Rechin – Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Multiple sclerosis is a complicated neurodegenerative disease for many reasons. For one, no one knows exactly what causes MS to happen in seemingly healthy people. Or, why it affects people to varying degrees and extents. But as with most diseases, ideas are hypothesized from all different perspectives to develop a cure or treatment. One of the hypothesized
treatments that are being tried out currently is the immunosuppressant drug.
An immunosuppressant drug is a substance that blocks certain factors in the immune system that contribute to the inflammatory response in the human body. For example, when someone receives an organ transplant, they are put on an immunosuppressant so their immune system does not attack the new organ, as a result of an inflammatory response. These drugs are also used to treat severe cases of MS.
On the market right now there are a broad range of immunosuppressant drugs. And, although a few have shown some sort of benefit to people with MS, there are many more that produce high side effects and intensify the susceptibility of infection. A lot of the immunosuppressant drugs are given along with the warning that they can have toxic side effects including hair loss, nausea, infertility and lung scarring. During clinical trials these drugs have had some benefit for people with very severe MS, but most patients believe that these small benefits may not outweigh the side effects. That is why, though there may be some good prospect with the immunosuppressant drugs, the MRF chose to research myelin repair instead.
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