A team led by researchers from the Cleveland Clinic's Neurological Institute reports that a promising drug slowed brain shrinkage in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) by nearly half. Limited therapies are currently available for this disabling form of the disease, according to the scientists. The definitive results of the Phase II trial (“ Phase 2 Trial of Ibudilast in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis ”), published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the drug ibudilast decreased progression of brain atrophy in progressive MS patients by 48% versus placebo. The two-year SPRINT-MS study was conducted at 28 sites with 255 patients. These findings are significant for patients with progressive MS, says Robert Fox, M.D., the study's principal investigator and vice-chair for research at the Cleveland Clinic's Neurological Institute. Our hope is that the benefit of ibudilast in slowing brain shrinkage will also translate to decreased progression of associated ...
Original Article: MS Drug Slows Brain Shrinkage by Nearly Half