MS hope from 'off-the- shelf' drugs

Existing drugs for motor neurone
disease, asthma and heart disease
are being tested as possible
treatments for advanced multiple
sclerosis (MS).
About 500 people with late-stage MS are
to enrol in clinical trials in England and
Scotland to see if three common drugs
can slow disease progression.
Research suggests the medicines may
protect the brain from further damage.
There is currently no treatment for
secondary progressive MS, a form of the
disease marked by increased disability.
About 100,000 people are living with MS
in the UK. Symptoms include problems
with walking, balance, speech, vision and
extreme fatigue.
Treatments are available to help with
relapses and symptoms of MS during the
early stages of the disease. However,
despite clinical trials, scientists have so
far failed to find a medicine that works in
the late stages of MS.
Now, after reviewing published data on
drug treatments that might help protect
nerves in the brain, UK researchers are
focusing on three drugs that are licensed
for other conditions.
The three drugs are amiloride - currently
licensed to treat heart disease and high
blood pressure; ibudilast - an asthma
drug used in Japan - ; and riluzole, the
sole treatment for motor neurone
disease.
All have shown some promise as a
treatment for MS in small-scale trials.
Participants in the larger trials in London,
Edinburgh and 13 other sites in the UK
will be monitored for signs of progression
of MS with scans and other clinical tests.
Dr Jeremy Chataway is consultant
neurologist at University College London,
which will carry out the London study.
He said the drugs selected are the most
promising candidates for testing to see if
they have an effect in slowing the
progression of MS.
He told BBC News: "There is no
treatment for secondary progressive MS.
This is a really appropriate and scientific
way of getting a pipeline of drugs so that
we can one day get a treatment that
works."
Patients entering the trial will be given
brain scans at the beginning and end of
the two-year study to see whether the
drugs have an effect on slowing down
brain tissue loss.
"We hope at least one of these drugs will
show that it significantly reduces the rate
of brain loss - we're hoping for 30% or
40% reduction," he added.
Step forward
The MS-SMART trial, as it is known, will
test the three drugs against a dummy
treatment (placebo) in 440 people with
secondary progressive MS.
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, head of biomedical
research at the MS society, said: "People
with MS have lived for years in hope that
one day we will find an effective
treatment for secondary progressive MS;
this trial, although still early stage, takes
us one step closer to make that hope a
reality."
Commenting on the approach to the
research, Prof Jayne Lawrence, chief
science adviser for the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society, said finding new
medical uses for existing drugs offered
hope to patients.
Aspirin, for example, had found many
therapeutic uses - as a painkiller and in
preventing strokes and heart disease,
she said.
"It's becoming much more popular now
because it costs so much to develop a
[new] drug. At least you've got an idea
of what the toxicity is so you can reduce
the time it takes to develop the drug."
The research is funded by the Medical
Research Council and the Multiple
Sclerosis Society.
More information on the study can be
found at MS-SMART Trial - Home