PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time in its 52-year
history, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has made recommendations
about the use of specific drugs that control multiple sclerosis (MS).
The organization's position on the drugs, Avonex, Betaseron and Copaxone, was
enthusiastically received by more than 500 volunteer leaders and key staff
members from across the country attending the organization's National
Leadership Conference in Chicago, Illinois, October 14-16, 1998.
According to Judith G. Cohen, president of the local Greater Delaware Valley
Chapter, "This could make a tremendous difference in the lives of thousands of
people who have MS. These drugs improve the quality of life for many and
could prevent disability in the future, especially when people take them
fairly early after being diagnosed."
Based on the work of a task force of nationally recognized MS experts who
reviewed data from controlled trials and clinical experience, the Society
recommends:
-- Avonex, Betaseron, and Copaxone reduce future disability and improve
the quality of life for many people with MS.
-- The use of these drugs should begin as soon as possible following a
definite diagnosis of MS and the determination of a relapsing course
of the disease.
-- Access to the drugs should not be limited by level of disability, age
or the frequency of relapses.
-- Most concurrent medical conditions do not contraindicate the use of
any of these three therapies.
-- Therapy should be continued indefinitely, unless there is a clear lack
of benefit, intolerable side effects, new data that reveal other
reasons for stopping, or a better therapy becomes available. Therapy
should not be discontinued during reevaluation for continuing
treatment.
-- All three agents should be covered by third-party payers and included
in their lists of approved drugs. The choice of drug should be made
jointly by the individual and her or his physicians, based on
professional evaluation and individual preferences. Movement from
one drug to another should be permitted.
These recommendation were made because trial data and clinical experience show
that all three drugs offer benefits in daily life for people with the type of
MS that causes clearly defined flare-ups or acute worsening of neurologic
function, followed by partial or complete recovery (relapsing-remitting MS).
Preliminary data from European studies of beta interferon 1b (Betaseron)
support its use for people with the type of MS that begins as relapsing-
remitting disease, followed by a steady worsening disease course with or
without occasional flare-ups, minor remissions or plateaus (secondary
progressive MS).
Many studies further confirm that permanent damage to nerve fibers is
coincident with the destruction of the myelin sheath that normally protects
nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. Myelin is attacked in MS. This
suggest that even early MS relapses that appear benign may have permanent
consequences.
For more information, please call the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at
1-800-548-4611.
SOURCE National Multiple Sclerosis Society
CO: National Multiple Sclerosis Society
ST: Pennsylvania
IN: MTC
SU:
10/20/98 19:04 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com