MS Oral Medication

Two oral MS treatments show promise, adverse side effects in studies.
The AP (1/21, Stobbe) reports, "Tests of the first two oral drugs developed for treating multiple sclerosis show that both cut the frequency of relapses and may slow progression of the disease, but with side effects that could pose a tough decision for patients." The studies testing Merck Serono's Cladribine (leustatin) and Novartis' Fingolimod (FTY720) "found that patients on the pills were about half as likely to suffer relapses of symptoms as those who took dummy pills or a commonly prescribed shot for MS." Still, "both drugs significantly lowered immune defenses that allowed latent herpes viruses to rage in some patients -- in one study, two people died of unchecked herpes infections."