In the battle against Multiple Sclerosis, Gilenya could be a small victory.  In your struggle to beat back the debilitating symptoms of MS, Gilenya now gives you the option to take a pill instead.  Multiple Sclerosis afflicts more than 350,000 people in the United States alone.  Until now, treating this crippling disease usually meant going to the doctor’s office or giving yourself an injection.  All that has changed now with the approval of Gilenya.  It treats the relapsing form of MS.  Gilenya keeps the white blood cells locked up in the lymph nodes by taking away the chemical “key” that unlocks entry into the lymph node.  If the white blood cells are “locked away”, they can’t attack your body.  Thus, further relapses become less likely.  This breakthrough was actually an accident, since the drug was formulated to prevent kidney transplant rejections.  But it was way too toxic at the needed levels.  It was found, however that with Multiple Sclerosis, Gilenya dosages were only needed at about 20% of the kidney rejection levels.  But careful monitoring is needed since even at doses consistent with treating MS, Gilenya can still be toxic and have severe side effects.  Some of these include:

  • Shortness of breath
  • Severe Bronchitis
  • Chronic diarrhea
  • Liver enzyme elevation
  • Slowing of your heartbeat
  • Macular Edema
  • Herpes infection

 

 For convenience in treating Multiple Sclerosis, Gilenya still worth a try

 

More than 2600 patients who participated in a trial still reported that the benefits and convenience far outweighed the side effects and continued participating.  Talk with your doctor.  If you struggle with the symptoms of MS, Gilenya may be right for you too.

 

The promise of new Multiple Sclerosis pills versus the trade off

There are two drugs competing primarily for the oral MS pill market.  There is a lot at stake for the winner from a financial standpoint.  Gilenya is the brand name for the drug Fingolimod.  The competing drug is cladribine.  Both show promise but both show pitfalls as well.

Studies funded by the new MS pill’s manufacturers show some results worth considering.  In one two year study, involving 1300 patients, half were given cladribine and half were given placebo.  While those on the real drug only suffered relapses at half the rate, 20 to 30 percent of them developed white blood cell count reductions (the infection fighting cells) significant enough to cause concern, compared to only two percent of those on placebo.  In another study involving 1000 patients taking either Fingolimod or placebo, respiratory infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis were twice as common in the Fingolimod group as in the placebo group.  So as always, there are tradeoffs in every advance seen in the never ending battle against this hideous disease.