“New oral therapy stops multiple sclerosis”

by time news

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological disease which, if not diagnosed and treated early, can cause serious consequences on the quality of life of those who suffer from it: visual disturbances, balance and walking difficulties, fatigue, sensitivity problems, bladder disorders, alteration mood, difficulty concentrating. After a relapse phase, some symptoms of multiple sclerosis may disappear completely allowing all functions to be recovered. In other cases, however, stay. “Fortunately, today we have many drugs available, both infusion and subcutaneous, capable of arresting and sometimes delaying the progression of the disease. Among these, there is certainly cladribine, an oral immunosuppressant that is able to block the disease in 90% of cases if taken at the beginning, after the first or second episode “. Carlo Pozzilli, head of the regional center for multiple sclerosis at the Sant’Andrea hospital in Rome, said this to time.news Salute.

Good news for those affected by this disease – which according to AISM in Italy affects 3,600 people every year (50% are under 40 years of age), with a new diagnosis every 3 hours – comes from the World Congress of Neurology 2021, during which Pozzilli presented a study conducted at the Policlinico Sant’Andrea in Rome to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cladribine on a group of people with multiple sclerosis.

“Cladribine is a new drug – underlines Pozzilli – it has been on the market for about 2 years, but compared to the therapies we used in the past in multiple sclerosis it is a bit different. After having administered it in young patients, who had failed the previous therapy but, above all, in newly diagnosed patients, we were able to see that this therapy in pills is able to stop the relapse of the disease in 90% of cases in a follow-up already two years. These are extremely positive results. But that’s not all: in some patients we have also noticed a clinical improvement in disability, albeit in a modest form “.

For the expert, compared to other therapies “it is a drug that has the great advantage of being able to be administered for a short period of time – Pozzilli has no doubts – with a cycle that lasts 15 days in the first year, 15 days in the second year. In this way, the patient can lead a normal life, is not forced to take the tablet every day and does not have to go to hospital frequently, as happens when following other therapies. This is an aspect that should not be underestimated, considering that multiple sclerosis mainly affects young people “.

Also regarding the safety profile of cladribine in the short and long term “our experience has been positive. There was indeed fear of marked immunosuppression by this therapy. In reality, however, we did not find any cases of marked lymphopenia (decrease in the number of lymphocytes in the blood) and the patients showed excellent tolerability of the drug without side effects ”he concludes.

You may also like

Leave a Comment