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ALL ABOUT MS Treatment (Part 9)

ALL ABOUT MS  Treatment (Part 9)

Glatiramer acetate (Copaxone)

This drug has similar effects and indications as interferon beta but a slightly different mechanism of action. It is applied at a dose of 20 mg, daily, subcutaneously. Side effects are also somewhat different, and include skin changes at the drug site and transient and short-term feeling of tightness in the chest with heart palpitations and a sense of lack of air.

Natalizumab (Tysabri)

This medicine is administered intravenously once a month. It works by preventing the immune system's entry into the brain and thus reducing the inflammatory (inflammatory) effect of immune cells on the nerve cells. Clinical trials have shown that natalizumab significantly reduces the incidence of attacks in the relapse form of MS, but in three patients it has caused a rare, but often fatal, brain disease. After this, the drug was withdrawn from the market, but in 2006 it was returned because of its positive effects on patients with MS. Now, the use of natalizumab is advised under strictly controlled conditions, and only in patients who do not respond positively to any other therapy.

Mitoxantrone (Novantrone)

Mitoxantron is a cytostatic (used in chemotherapy of many types of cancers), which is used in small doses to treat aggressive forms of relapse-remotent form of MS and certain forms of progressive form of MS. It is administered intravenously, every three months. Since mitoxantrone can cause serious side effects after prolonged use, such as heart failure, does not apply for more than two to three years.

Some doctors prescribe some other chemotherapeutic drugs, such as cyclofosfamide (Cytoxan), in the event of a serious, rapidly progressing disease. However, this drug has not been approved by the World Drug Treatment Agency for MS.

Plasmafereza


Plasmafereza is a method that successfully treats autoimmune diseases. However, it is not yet clear whether its use results in short-term or long-term results in MS treatment, and its use is still contested. Plasmapheresis can help restore neurological functions in patients with sudden severe attacks that do not respond to high-dose steroids.

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