MS Progressive Types: Research

Further, there appears to be a need to study various vitamins and MS, at least Vitamins D and B3.

It has been known for some time there is a relationship between MS and Vitamin D, but the exact relationship is unclear. There is a Vitamin D deficiency in 60% of MSers, but more study is needed to determine how to correct that deficiency.

Then there is a question of Vitamin B3. In 2006, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke funded research that studied B3 in mice with positive results. They were published in the September 20 Journal of Neuroscience, and also promoted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "We hope that our work will initiate a clinical trial, and that nicotinamide could be used in real patients," the project head says. "In the early phase of MS, anti-inflammatory drugs may work, but long-term you need to protect against axonal damage."

These are only a few examples of ongoing Secondary Progressive research projects.

Primary Progressive MS (PPMS)
There are reasons it is difficult to fund and execute clinical trials for Primary Progressive MS:

* Fewer PPMS participants - Remember, only 15% of all MSers are PPMS
*Not ambulatory - Most MSers with PPMS are not walking
* Most are older - Likely to have problems that may interfere with the test
* Side effects - Greater measure of risk for easily affected MSers
* Unpredictability - Differences difficult to compare (speed of progression, plateaus)
* Financial - Lengthy test may be costly for testers and participants

Here is an example of a test that was terminated, but partially continued anyway. In 1999, the largest clinical trial for PPMS began testing Copaxone. An interim analysis found that almost 200 participants had quit and there was no significant response in women, so the test was terminated. However, there was response in men and since there was no treatment for PPMS, patients were offered the opportunity to continue. After three years analysis showed a significant slowing of progression in men.

There are trials that do continue to a natural conclusion. Here is an example of one that did not end prematurely, and it looks like a good one! UT Southwestern in Dallas where I happened to be diagnosed, is a teaching and research hospital, so I checked to see what they are doing for MS research. It has been designated as a lead site for a study of Rituxan, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997 for treating some forms of cancer. This time it Is being tested specifically for PPMS.

"People with primary progressive MS don't respond as well to traditional drug therapies as patients with other, more common forms of the disease, such as relapsing and remitting MS. Because of this, many people with primary progressive MS have higher incidences of debilitating physical side effects." Kathleen Hawker, asst. prof of neurology UTSW. Not too long ago, it was questionable if the study would continue, but it overcame the obstacle and continued.