caution larry

Hi, I’m Kim! This site provides a little insight to my journey of being diagnosised with Remitting Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis on October 26th 2004. I review books and documentaries, post MS-related news, and share my photos.

Subscribe (RSS)

no larry

My bloglines

Archives

Current

November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
September 2010
November 2011

 

Friday, October 26, 2007
Acne medicine clears up MS symptoms -Minocycline
 
Whoa. This could be amazing. It's cheap, could halt progression AND is just a generic oral med?! Wow. Hey, could this be a treatment that could get rid of my acne at the same time as my MS? I'd like both please. I'm 31 and really don't need acne anymore!

"An old-fashioned, inexpensive antibiotic commonly used to clear up pimply faces and bacterial infections is about to be put to the test against multiple sclerosis.

Researchers hope the $4-million study, involving more than 200 people in 13 Canadian cities, will prove minocycline pills can, indeed, help stop the progression of the disease.

Tony Traboulsee, a neurologist at the University of British Columbia MS clinic, said the trial stems from animal research done by a former UBC scientist, V. Wee Yong, showing minocycline - in the tetracycline family of antibiotics - can inhibit the activities of an enzyme and cells that initiate MS attacks and that it has anti-inflammatory action that may shield myelin, the protective sheaf around the nerve fibres of the brain and spinal cord.

University of Calgary, the centre leading the two-year minocycline trial that will begin in January. Yong carried out a previous small trial that showed minocycline significantly decreased brain lesions in MS patients.

Yong and fellow researchers carried out another nine-month trial in which minocycline was combined with an injectable drug called Copaxone. That study, whose patients had more advanced cases of MS, suggested that minocycline is most beneficial at the outset of disease symptoms, when it can actually halt progression.

Participants in this next study, sponsored by the MS Society of Canada, must be referred within 90 days of their first MS symptoms. Anyone who waits longer than that will be excluded.

"The benefits of minocycline are straightforward," said Luanne Metz, principal investigator in the trial and director of the Foothills Hospital MS Clinic in Calgary. "It's relatively cheap ($800 a year compared to other drug treatments that can cost up to $40,000 a year), has few side effects and can be taken in pill format. The aim of our research is to see if this common drug can reduce the occurrence of further disease activity in people who have experienced an initial attack of MS symptoms and who are at high risk of progressing to definite MS."

Metz said that two-thirds of people who get an initial attack of MS symptoms will be diagnosed with MS within six months but if minocycline is used at the outset of symptoms, "we believe we can reduce this number."

Traboulsee, who is on the clinical steering committee for the trial, said while long-term antibiotic use may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance, it is not considered a major concern in the MS trial because the drug is not being used to treat infection.

November 1 - UPDATE... In ALS this is showing very negative results and warnings of caution for testing this med in other neurological diseases is being flagged.