'Antibiotics may help in MS'

A new study suggests that combining a medication currently used to treat multiple sclerosis with an antibiotic may slow the progress of the disease.

According to the study, patients who took a combination of antibiotics and interferon had reduced brain lesions.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic condition of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) and is the most common disabling neurological condition of young adults, affecting approximately 6,000 people in Ireland.

The development of MS involves inflammation that destroys parts of the brain along with progressive degeneration of brain tissue.

The most common type of multiple sclerosis is relapsing-remitting MS, in which patients experience attacks of symptoms such as muscle weakness and spasms followed by periods of symptom-free remission.

Many patients with relapsing-remitting MS who take interferon, a medication that boosts the immune system and fights viruses, still experience relapses and may continue to develop new areas of damaged brain tissue (lesions) visible on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Researchers from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, in the US conducted the trial involving 15 patients with relapsing-remitting MS who had been taking interferon for at least six months and were experiencing symptoms and developing new brain lesions.

For four months, participants took 100 milligrams daily of an antibiotic in addition to continuing interferon therapy. They underwent monthly neurological examinations, MRI to detect brain lesions and blood work to monitor safety.

After four months, the combination treatment resulted in fewer lesions visible on MRI – 60% of the patients had more than a one-fourth reduction in the number of lesions from the beginning of the study.

The patients also had reduced disability levels.

Only one patient relapsed and side-effects were mild and included only known effects of the two drugs individually rather than new effects associated with combining the medications.

The researchers said that the study meant that a combined therapy might be effective in some patients with MS; however, they added that further controlled clinical trials were warranted to demonstrate safety and efficacy in a larger patient population.

The research is published in the journal Archives of Neurology.

[Posted: Wed 12/12/2007]