Powerful chemotherapy stopped the progression of multiple sclerosis in patients in one trial. The treatment, however, resulted in the death of one participant.
It is an announcement full of promises, but also of questions. With powerful chemotherapy, UK doctors managed to contain multiple sclerosis (MS) in 23 patients in a study, the results of which are published in the Lancet. The authors thus explain that they were able to stop relapses and the development of new brain lesions linked to MS, without having to continue drug therapy.
Promises and Risks
Two million people worldwide (100,000 in France) are affected by this serious pathology of the immune system. It is an understatement to say that the feat gives hope, while current treatments do not cure the disease and are struggling to stop its progression.
Yet, although it is the “first treatment capable of producing this level of disease control or neurological recovery, the risks associated with the treatment limit its large-scale use,” explain Canadian experts cited in the review.
In fact, among the 24 voluntary patients (aged 18 to 50) who benefited from this very aggressive chemotherapy, one died of hepatic and infectious complications linked to the treatment. Indeed, the latter causes the “complete destruction” of the immune system; the side effects are potentially numerous and serious.
No relapse
For the remaining 23 patients, however, the results appear positive. All had a severe form of the disease and had their disease contained with chemotherapy. “Eight of them had a lasting improvement in their disability 7.5 years after treatment,” say the researchers.
No relapse was observed during the study period, between four and 13 years. After the treatment, only one new lesion was detected out of 327 examinations, add the authors of the study, specifying that the “potential advantages” of the treatment “must be balanced by the risk of serious complications”.
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