New hope for multiple sclerosis sufferers

A new study suggests the onset of multiple sclerosis can be dramatically delayed or even prevented with early treatment.

The findings came from an international study of nearly 400 people in the United States and Canada. One of the study sites was Saskatoon, which has the highest rates of MS in Canada.

• WEB LINK: New England Journal of Medicine

Until now, MS is not officially diagnosed until people have suffered two attacks the second spreading beyond the inflammation of nerves in the eye, spinal cord or lower brain to other parts of the central nervous system.

However, researchers have discovered that giving patients a drug called interferon beta-1a, or Avonex, within weeks of the first attack cut the likelihood of developing MS symptoms within three years by 44 per cent.

The findings were so dramatic that the study was halted early.

Only one-third of patients who gave themselves weekly thigh injections of the drug developed MS within three years, compared with half the patients who injected a placebo.

"The earlier people are treated, the better they will be," Dr. Jock Murray, one of the study's co-authors said from Halifax. "So, early treatment is the one single lesson that I think we've learned from this particular study."

Sylvie Blouin says she couldn't use her legs but she's back on her feet since she started taking the drug last May.

"I believe that there's going to be a cure some day," she says, "And because of the injections, it's going to help."

It's hoped the findings will lead to treatment being stepped up for thousands of patients who currently won't be helped until they have substantial brain or nerve damage.

The injections cost up to $1,500 per month. Right now, the provinces pay for treatment in people with advanced MS, but there's no guarantee they'll cover people whose disease has barely started.

There are 50,000 Canadians who have multiple sclerosis.

The North American study took place at the State University of New York School of Medicine and about 50 other U.S. and Canadian sites. It will be published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.