Years of scientific research on multiple sclerosis (MS) are showing signs of paying off, with almost a dozen potential new drugs in the final stages of clinical trials and moving toward pharmacy shelves, according to an article scheduled for the April 6 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine.
Those drugs could double the number of medications available to treat MS — which affects about 400,000 people in the United States — over the next several years.
In the article, C&EN senior editor Lisa Jarvis explains that MS is a disease in which the immune system attacks myelin, a protective coating on many nerve fibers.
This attack triggers a slowly worsening host of symptoms. Twenty years ago, few effective medicines were available for these patients.
Many of the new drugs are pills rather than injectable medicines, making it easier for patients to take the medication over long periods of time.
Most of the drugs ease the immune system damage to myelin or offer protection to already-damaged nerves.
By American Chemical Society
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