Better treatments for multiple sclerosis raise hopes for curing the disease

Twenty years ago, many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients weren’t even told they had the disease because doctors couldn’t offer treatment and there was concern insurance carriers could raise rates or even drop the patients.

Since then, the disease has become more manageable and better understood, with numerous possibilities for a cure in sight.

In the past decade, three medications have been developed to help slow down the progression of MS. Two of them are interferons, genetically engineered copies of the body’s proteins that fight viral infection.

The other is a copolymer, consisting of four amino acids. This blocks the body’s own immune system from attacking myelin, a protective sheath that surrounds the communication links between nerve cells and allows smooth communication between the brain and the nervous system.

MS is one of the most common neurological disorders among adults between 20 and 40, affecting around 300,000 Americans every year. It strikes twice as many women as men and is most common among those with a Northern European genetic background who live far from the equator. The reason for this is unknown.

Researchers also believe there is a genetic component among patients — those with a close family member with MS tend to have about a higher risk of contracting it. And because it’s more prevalent among women, studies are under way to determine whether hormones might play a role.

Bone marrow transplants could be a new approach in treating MS, says Dr. George Kraft, professor of rehabilitation medicine at the School of Medicine, director of the MS clinic at UW Medical Center and director of the MS Research and Training Center.

The process involves injecting basic blood cells from the bone marrow into a patient to try to create a new immune system and stop the progression the disease. So far about 50 such transplants have been performed worldwide on MS patients. However, it will take years to determine the effectiveness of these transplants, which are still viewed as experimental.

“Most people will respond well to one of the three medications, but you have to cover all the stops,” says Kraft. “Now our hope is to identify MS very early and arrest it. “

Patients differ widely in the way they respond to the present treatment, and each case is unique, he adds. Although MS is generally a slow disease, it can also be very unpredictable — some people could become almost paralyzed in just a couple of months.

Others develop relapse-remitting MS, characterized by random attacks. This type of MS allows people to live relatively normal lives, although they may need canes or leg braces.

Some other experimental approaches being studied include: