The results of a major trial presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle show that taking a course of cladribine tablets just a few times a year can reduce the chances of a relapse by well over 50 per cent. And patients who took part in the study suffered very few side effects.

If it becomes available to patients, cladribine will be the first licensed treatment for MS which does not involve regular injections.

Multiple sclerosis is a disabling neurological condition which usually starts in young adulthood. It is the result of the body's own immune system damaging the central nervous system.

This interferes with transmission of messages between the brain and other parts of the body and leads to problems with vision, muscle control, balance and memory.

For the 85,000 people in the UK who suffer from MS, the treatments which are currently available have to be given by frequent injections or intravenous infusions, and the benefits have to be weighed up against a number of side effects.

Jan Bradley, Professor of Parasitology, said: “Our understanding of mammalian immunology is largely based on rodents reared under highly unnatural pathogen and stress-free conditions. Analysing the immune response in wild populations can give crucial insights into how the immune system functions in its natural context.”

Many health problems in modern humans are caused by over-active immune responses. The immune system should be able to tell the difference between foreign invaders and its own body cells. But sometimes it can mistake self proteins for non self proteins triggering an attack on its own body and causing an autoimmune disease such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes or multiple sclerosis. Or the body can mistake a harmless substance as a threat causing an allergic response.

The authors say some parasites may exert a moderating effect on the function of a key component of the immune system, which could help reduce overall immune reactivity and the risk of developing immune dysfunctions.

To Read Full Article:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421205236.htm

Society Convenes Workshop on Strategies to Find Cause of MS, Factors Driving Progression, and Ways to Estimate MS Frequency

A recent international workshop held in New York City and convened by the National MS Society, co-chaired by epidemiologist Lorene Nelson, PhD (Stanford University) and neurologist Leslie Weiner, MD (University of Southern California), considered these and other questions to develop strategies to identify MS triggering and risk factors that cause MS (or protect against it), factors that drive MS progression and predict prognosis, and studies to determine its prevalence and incidence in the U.S.

Designing Studies for Different Purposes
“There’s a powerful smokescreen between the time a person experiences the triggering factor or factors for MS, and the years later when MS symptoms begin,” commented John Richert, MD, head of research and clinical programs at the National MS Society at the opening session of the workshop. “This smokescreen occurs in part because of the huge number of other environmental agents that people have been exposed to during the years or decades between the time of the trigger and the onset of clinical disease, and has made it difficult to trace back to the causes of MS.”

Many studies have looked back at lifestyles, infections, diets and many other factors, comparing the history of individuals who developed MS and those who did not. Often these studies rested on the accuracy of individuals’ memories, casting some doubt on their results. (For example, can you remember how many hours you played outside when you were, say, eight years old?)

For these and other reasons, prospective studies that look ahead, not backward, are better suited for documenting experiences before a person develops a disease. These prospective studies can take many years, and involve studying many people, only a fraction of whom will eventually develop a relatively rare disease like multiple sclerosis.

Some prospective studies that are already in place are playing important roles in identifying factors that may protect against MS (such as vitamin D levels/sunlight exposure) or may increase risk (such as smoking tobacco and mononucleosis/Epstein-Barr virus). Participants discussed these and also learned from investigators involved in longitudinal studies that are seeking risk factors for other diseases, including a study of sisters of women with breast cancer, an inflammatory bowel disease study on gene/environment interactions, and studies in juvenile diabetes.

Another type of study discussed would seek factors that predict or influence severity of disease progression by tracking people with early MS over the long term. Some studies already in place and collecting data include the Canadian MS twins studies; the Danish MS Registry capturing treatment and other information; and the Harvard Brigham and Women’s CLIMB study.

Ascertaining a more certain count of the incidence and prevalence of MS in the U.S. was also deemed by participants as important for answering questions about whether MS is on the rise, and for beefing up advocacy efforts with Congress. Currently, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is doing pilot studies on the feasibility of using existing healthcare and patient databases to determine prevalence of MS in different areas of the U.S.

In closing remarks, Dr. Nelson stated, “Over the last decade or so, we’ve made great strides identifying MS risk factors. Although some of them can’t be changed – like the set of genes a person is born with, or their sex or age – what is encouraging is that many of the risk factors identified are modifiable – such as vitamin D intake and smoking.”