Experimental multiple sclerosis drug, Alemtuzumab (LEMTRADA(TM*) shows promise

Published: December 24, 2011

Jennifer Garner was getting desperate.

She wasn’t even 40, yet found herself unable to see clearly and having to use her cane more frequently as the confounding numbness returned to the left half of her body. She had to be hospitalized three times over a short time period.

In 2004, an MRI showed telltale lesions in her brain.

After more testing, the physician assistant and mother began taking the drug Rebif for multiple sclerosis.

But after a couple of years, her body began rejecting the medication and the lesions worsened.

Her doctor, Gabriel Pardo, told her about various MS studies under way and suggested she use her medical background to choose a medication to try. She settled on a new, promising drug called alemtuzumab.

“From August to December, when I got the treatment, I had worsened dramatically. I can’t even imagine what kind of shape I would be in, whether I would even be walking,” Garner said.

“Instead, I still have a full-time job, have my own business and two children. I can’t afford to not be walking,” she said.

If the new drug continues to live up to recent results, it may offer new hope for MS patients.