Protecting MS Patients
About two million Americans suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that currently has no cure. Doctors are now testing a drug that will add an effective new form of therapy to what is currently available.
 |
Transcript of the story
|
|
Healthy For Life Extra
extra information about the story |
|
For More Information
where to go for help |
Art Coscuna is a big football fan. Three years ago, he was forced to put his playing dreams on the shelf.
Art Coscuna
Has MS
"I was just walking, and all of a sudden, my right foot, and up my right side, went numb and I just stopped and said, 'This isn't right.' I turned to go back to my car and I collapsed."
Art has MS. A disease in which the immune system attacks nerves - affecting muscles, coordination and balance. Medications are limited in controlling the disease. Art's neurologist, Doctor Marco Rizzo enrolled him in a study on an experimental drug called Antegren.
Marco Rizzo, M.D., Ph.D.
Neurologist
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, CT
"The hypothesis is that this antibody keeps the immune system from entering the spinal cord and brain and wreaking destruction."
On an MRI, the brain of a healthy person appears uniformly gray. The MRI of a person with MS has white spots, lesions from inflammation and scarring that result in nerve damage.
Marco Rizzo, M.D., Ph.D.
"Those patients on the drug antegren had significant improvement in MRI scans compared to those patients who received placebo."
That's good news for Art.
Art Coscuna
"They said, 'It will take time. It will come back. The nerves got to find a new route to run, but it's not something that's going happen overnight.'"
Antegren is part of a new class of drugs that is being tested for treating both Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn's Disease, both are diseases thought to be the result of a malfunctioning immune system.
BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. Surrounding and protecting the nerve fibers of the CNS is a fatty tissue called myelin, which helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses. With multiple sclerosis, myelin is missing from various areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis or lesions. Sometimes the nerve fiber itself is damaged or broken. Myelin protects nerve fibers and also helps them transfer electric impulses. When myelin is destroyed or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted, and this produces the various symptoms of MS.
The cause of MS is unknown. However, researchers believe that the damage to myelin results from an abnormal response by the body's immune system. Normally, the immune system defends the body against foreign invaders such as viruses or bacteria. In autoimmune diseases, the body attacks its own tissue. It is believed that MS is an autoimmune disease, in which myelin is attacked.
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS FACTS:
- Most people with MS are diagnosed between age 20 and 50.
- Two to three times more women have MS than men.
- Studies indicate that genetic factors make certain individuals more susceptible than others, but there is no evidence that MS is directly inherited.
- There are about 400,000 Americans with MS, and about 200 people are diagnosed with MS every week.
- Worldwide, MS affects about 2.5 million people.
ANTEGREN STUDY: During the phase II trial of antegren for the treatment of MS, researchers found the drug helped reinstate the immune system in people with MS. Marcco Rizzo, M.D., Ph.D., from Yale University, says, "There are no therapies that totally restore the immune system. Restoration occurs only by the body itself. What antegren does is modify the immune system." MRI scans of patients receiving the drug showed improvement and led researchers to believe less damage was done to the patients' brains. Dr. Rizzo says, "What they showed ... was a marked decrease in the ability of the disease to cause damage in the brain and spinal cord."
Currently, antegren is being studied in a phase III trial involving about 700 participants across North America. If this study concludes antegren to be a successful treatment, MS patients will have more options for treatment. Dr. Rizzo says, "Treatment options right now are quite limited. It will provide an additional modality of treatment and may provide complementary treatments or provide a venue for possible combination therapies."
Jacqueline E. Weaver
Assistant Director for Science & Medicine
Yale Office of Public Affairs
Yale University
(203) 432-8555
jacqueline.weaver@yale.edu
Copyright © 2003 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
|
|
|
|
REVERSING SCLERODERMA
A risky treatment could be the answer for patients with serious forms of this disease. 
COLONOSCOPY-NOT JUST FOR COLON CANCER
A virtual colonoscopy detects a wide range of diseases outside the colon, which could save lives. June is national Scleroderma Awareness Month!
CLEARER MRI
A new invention helps doctors get clearer images of people who can't lie still.
HELP FOR BLOOD PRESSURE
An investigational device could help patients with this condition stay healthier.
SEEING THE HEART IN 3D
Researchers in the Netherlands are using virtual reality to see the heart like never before.
PANCREATIC CANCER VACCINE
A vaccine increases survival for patients with this deadly form of cancer.
NEW HELP FOR ALCOHOLICS
People who suffer from addiction may have a new option in the form of a pill.
TREATING URINARY INCONTINENCE
A sling helps women with this common problem find relief.
ROBOT REHAB FOR STROKE
A new robot is helping stroke patients recover without a therapist.
STEM CELLS HEAL HEARTS
Donor stem cells may be the answer for patients who suffer a heart attack.
BREATHING WITH EMPHYSEMA
A new, nonsurgical procedure could help patients breathe more easily.
DOPPLER PREDICTS STROKE
The same technology used to forecast a storm is helping doctors understand strokes and migraines.
BETTER BYPASS SURGERY
Cutting-edge technology allows doctors to fix a coronary bypass operation while the patient is still in surgery.
BETTER KIDNEY TRANSPLANT TREATMENT
A new treatment could reduce the risk of rejection within six months of a transplant.
WRAPPING RADIATION AROUND TUMORS
New technology allows doctors to target tumors with better precision.
CUTTING-EDGE SURGERY EDUCATION
Huge monitors and microscopic cameras are making it easier for surgeons to teach residents complicated procedures.
LUNG CANCER VACCINE
A vaccine under study offers hope for some patients who are diagnosed with this deadly cancer.
EASIER COLON CANCER TEST
A blood test may be the future in screening for colon cancer.
STEM CELLS FIGHT LUPUS
Using a patient's own stem cells could provide a cure for this devastating disease.
NEW SINUS RELIEF WITH A BALLOON
A new technique pushes sinus blockages out of the way and results in less pain.
HUNTINGTON'S HELP
A drug already approved in Europe and Canada could offer hope to patients who are plagued by this disease.
INHALED CHEMO
A new twist on standard chemotherapy offers less side effects and better precision.
STRENGTHENING BRITTLE BONES
A drug to treat osteoporosis is helping patients with a disease that weakens their bones.
BIRD FLU: BE PREPARED
Find out what you can do to prepare for the flu that experts think will hit the states in the coming months.
|
Send email to news@wchstv.com for information or comments concerning WCHS-TV Eyewitness News.
