What are the new drugs for treating MS? - Dr. Hamidreza Torabi Neurologist
What are the new drugs for treating MS?
What are the new drugs for treating MS?
masoud77771401-1-19 04:07:08 +00:00What is multiple sclerosis or MS?
What are the new drugs to treat MS - MS is a condition that affects the brain and central nervous system. In MS, the immune system attacks the protective coating on the nerve fibers, which can disrupt the communication between the brain and the body.
People with MS may experience the following:
- Numbness or weakness in one or more organs
- Feeling of electric shock with specific neck movements
- Lack of coordination of movements
- Partial or complete loss of vision
- Long-term blurred vision or diplopia
- Speech problems
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Pain in the body
- Problems related to sexual function, intestines and bladder
How do MS drugs work?
- While there is no definitive cure for MS, a variety of medications can help speed improve MS attacks.
- These drugs work by suppressing the body's immune system to prevent attacks on the covering around the nerves. Medicines are in different forms, such as injections or tablets. Currently, there are more than 22 types of drugs for MS. "Medicine is still an art," says Dr. Karen Blitz-Shabir, a neurologist and director of the MS program at New York Methodist Presbyterian Hospital. In treating MS, it has to be very patient-centered, because people with it have very different symptoms. Having different treatment options is good and helpful. Every medicine has its place."
A new drug for MS has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- The new drug, Ponvory, is an oral, once-daily treatment. It has been shown to reduce annual relapse rates and new brain lesions in people with MS.
- This approval is based on a 3-phase, 2-year clinical trial. In this trial, this drug was shown to reduce relapse by 30.5% compared to other drugs.
- Seventy-one percent of trial participants who received Ponvory had no confirmed recurrence of their disease.
- Is this drug a good option for people with MS? What makes this drug different?
Ponvory is classified as an S1P drug, or a sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor.
This drug is used as an immunomodulator. This means that it affects the receptors of the lymph nodes and can prevent the release of some immune cells and their attack on the central nervous system. In fact, it basically slows down or reduces the attacks on the central nervous system.
Ponvory is taken once a day, while other MS medications are taken several times a day. In addition, it is consumed orally. Other treatments for MS are often injections or infusions.
In the clinical trials of Ponvory, which included 1133 participants, the safety and tolerance of the 20 mg dose of this drug was reported to be higher than other drugs.
"It's similar to a lot of other options that we have on the market right now," says Dr. Assaf Harrell, a neurologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. He also added: "I think the only thing that makes it different is that it has a shorter half-life [compared to other MS treatments], which means that [relapses] and symptoms go away faster. "It's a double-edged sword in my opinion," Harrell added. If there is a break in the medication, it can be worrying. On the other hand, if there is concern about this drug from the immune system, such as an infection caused by weakened immunity, it can be resolved very quickly, because the life of the drug in the body is short.It should be noted that each person with MS is different from another person. Each person with MS has their own unique set of symptoms and experiences with the disease. Therefore, the doctor must choose the best treatment for the patient among the different treatment options. Obviously, this choice differs from person to person.
Having a variety of effective options to choose from when diagnosing and treating MS is very beneficial.
Harrel says: "This oral medicine (Ponvory) is completely effective. "I would say it's for someone who likes to take one pill a day, rather than multiple pills a day, or an injection or an infusion."
