2007-04-18 08:30:12
Glad to finally see some positive
news coming out from Tysabri land. Seems like a short time ago where all
the news was very negative. So, vision loss reduction at 47%. Good stuff. "Laura
J. Balcer, MD, MSCE, and colleagues analyzed data from two randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled, phase 3 trials involving 2,138 patients with relapsing MS
who were treated either with natalizumab (Tysabri, Biogen Idec) every 4 weeks
for 2 years or placebo. The researchers found that patients treated with natalizumab
had up to a 47% reduction in vision loss, defined as a loss of two or more lines
of visual acuity, compared with placebo-treated patients, according to a press
release from the university. Specifically, natalizumab reduced the risk of clinically
significant vision loss at the lowest contrast level — 1.25% — by 35% in
one of the trials and by 28% in the second trial, according to the study. "Not
only does natalizumab prevent the worsening of vision loss in people with relapsing
MS, but it is also associated with significant reductions in the likelihood
of sustained vision loss due to inflammatory demyelination of nerve fibers,"
Dr. Balcer said in the release.