Clinical Trials Report Central & Peripheral Nervous Systems: Drugs in development for the treatment of multiple sclerosis: antigen non-specific therapies

Abstract

Recent advances in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), in particular with interferon beta, have brought hope to MS sufferers. Unfortunately these offer only limited benefit and there remain major unmet needs in MS therapy. Many new lines of research into the causes and possible treatments of MS are being followed and clinical trials are being carried out both to assess new drugs and to evaluate the potential in MS of older drugs, primarily immunosuppressives, used in other conditions. This article briefly reviews current MS treatment and gives an update on clinical trials in progress of new drugs that do not specifically act by increasing tolerability to the antigens presumed responsible for the auto-immune response in MS patients.

Key Words:

• clinical trials
• multiple sclerosis
• new drug treatments