“With more and more people having brain scans for various reasons, such as headache or head trauma, more of these cases are being discovered, and many of these people go on to develop MS,” said study author Christine Lebrun Frenay, MD, of the University Hospital of Nice in France and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. “The sooner a person can be treated for MS, the greater the chances of delaying damage to the myelin, which decreases the risk of permanent neurologic impairment and debilitating symptoms.”
The study involved 89 people with radiologically isolated syndrome. Half of the people were given 14 milligrams (mg) of teriflunomide daily and the other half were given a
. They were followed for up to two years.
During the study, eight people who took the drug developed MS symptoms, compared to 20 who took the placebo.
After adjusting for other factors that could affect the risk of developing symptoms, researchers found that people taking teriflunomide had a 72% lower risk of experiencing first symptoms than those taking the placebo.
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“However, more research is needed in larger groups of people to confirm our findings. Additionally, it is important that medical professionals are cautious when using MRI expertise to diagnose this condition, selecting only patients at risk of developing MS and not increasing MRI misdiagnoses,” Lebrun Frenay said.
The study was supported by Sanofi, the company that makes teriflunomide.
Source: Eurekalert
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