Hey Joann

I am not a doctor or neurologist, just another MS patient, so I am just scanning the literature for you to see what the general consensus is.

From what I have been reading, it does not appear that Rebif is very promising in slowing down secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis.  But you should read for yourself what some of the studies say. 

Here is one such study where they conclude:  "Ares-Serono, the manufacturer of Rebif, designed the 3-year study to see if the drug could slow progression of disability.(for patients who have SPMS) In this study, it did not. People who took the active drug had fewer and less severe attacks, however, and less brain lesion activity as seen on MRI scans."

So the Rebif in this particular study did do something as in the people taking it had fewer and less severe episodes but it didn't slow down the rate of disability for those who have SPMS.

This has led me to wonder what sorts of treatments are people who have secondary progressive MS using?

I did find one site where people who have this type of MS rate the effectiveness of varous treatments.  You may read more about this here.

I have no idea how effective this is for SPMS but some patients are trying Tsyabri.  You can read what one doctor says about what type of SPMS patient would most benefit from Tsyabri right here.

Lastly, I want to tell you about some current research being done recently where they are looking into a drug called, Simvastatin, which has been used to lower cholesterol but also may benefit MS patients in reducing the areas of inflamation on MRI brain scans,  improving the immune system in MS, and protecting the nervous system. 

The MS society of the UK has written about this drug on their web site.  As of April of this year they were undergoing phase II clinical trials in London which you can read about here.

I was really hoping I could tell you something wonderful here but at best the most I can say is that researchers are working on it.  I am hopeful that they will come up with something soon to help people with all types of MS.

I do hope this has helped some.  Answering these questions has really opened my eyes to the fact that there is so much more to be done as far as research for this disease.  We have come a long way but not far enough.

Thank you for asking this question.  You are helping others who are probably wondering the same thing.