One of the most common impairments with multiple sclerosis is trouble walking. But there's new hope for mobility. MS causes damage to the nervous system's electrical network, which is what over time, causes patients to lose mobility. But there's a drug under study right now, that may reconnect those lost signals.
Gale Myers wasn't sure what the future would hold when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis back in her twenties, "'You have MS, it's a chronic sometimes progressive disease of the central nervous system; we really don't know what's going to happen.' that was it."
She's still living independently, though the tempo of her life has slowed. "Among the most common impairments that MS causes is problems with mobility, problems with walking," says Dr. Andrew Goodman.
These declines happen when nerve-protecting tissue, called Myelin, is attacked by the immune system. Damaged areas hamper nerve communication. But Dr. Goodman says an experimental drug, called Fampridine, may help, "It does not block the attack, it does not improve or dissolve the scars that develop from the immune system attack, but it enhances the, the function of the nerve fibers where the myelin has been damaged."
In two studies, doctors found Fampridine made a difference in walking ability. "Among the people we found in our two pivotal trials who were consistent responders to fampridine, the average improvement was 25%," according to Dr. Goodman.
Gale's stamina improved, a result that means putting away groceries is easier than before, "I was finding that I would come home, I could put the groceries away. I mean, I wasn't running, I wasn't walking without assistance, but I had that much more stamina."
Patients in these studies continued taking other MS medications, so this was an additional pharmaceutical therapy. Fampridine is still under F-D-A review.
