Promising new MS Drug and Model

On March 28th, the FDA approved ocrelizumab (brand name Ocrevus) to treat both relapsing-remitting MS and primary progressive MS. This is the first time a therapy has been available for severe forms of the Multiple Sclerosis. This follows upon the heels of spectacular results from a pair of major international clinical trials led by Stephen Hauser, M.D., of U.S.Can Francisco, confirming that ocrelizumab can block the inflammation that drives the disease. These were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in December 2016.

The new therapy is based on a new model and understanding of the disease. The success of the treatment serves in part as a confirmation of the new (B-cell) model and a rejection of the old (T-cell) model. It is projected that much more progress with respect to the disease may come out of acceptance of this new model. In an ironic twist, even though the old model was inaccurate and generated tissue changes in mice that didn't closely the tissue changes caused in humans by MS, funding from NIH was tied to use of the old model. Luckily, the researchers were able to persist without any assistance or funding from the NIH.

A much more thorough and complete report on this development can be found here:
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/new-multiple-sclerosis-drug-...

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