Until a cure for MS is ultimately found, researchers will focus on the only thing they can, which is to slow down the disease’s progression. Multiple Sclerosis Interferon treatment is still the most widely used to slow the progression of the disease and prevent relapses. Living with MS is extremely difficult. Its sufferers have to live with constant fatigue, depression, spasticity, difficulty walking, pain, and strange sensations and feelings in both the body and mind. Even vertigo is not uncommon. These and other symptoms are exaggerated when the patient has an attack, or a relapse.
So while the many new drugs that have been approved to relieve these and other symptoms are welcomed by the MS community of patients and doctors, the real focus remains on a cure – or in the absence of a cure – a way to either slow down the progression of the disease or the frequency of the relapses. MS Interferon therapy still plays arguably the most important role in that pursuit.
What are the types of Multiple Sclerosis Interferon Treatments?
The two types of Interferon used in MS treatments are Interferon Beta -1a and 1b. Both are most effective treating Relapsing – Remitting Multiple Sclerosis forms (RRMS). Beta-1a is produced by cells found in all mammals. Beta 1-b is produced by modified E. coli bacteria. The interferon drugs slow the progression of MS because of their anti-inflammatory properties. They provide stability and strength to the blood-brain barrier (BBB). MS breaks down this barrier and allows substances into the brain that are unwanted. Strengthening of this blood-brain barrier is thought to be the way that Interferon-Beta slows the disease’s progress. Depending on the specific drug and the stage of progression the patient is in at the beginning of treatment, Interferon medications have demonstrated between 18 and 38 percent relapse reduction rates and have shown to slow the progress of MS. The rate of progression reduction is difficult to measure because there is no way to know how much the disease may have progressed in an individual patient if Interferon had never been started.
MS Interferon beta 1-a drugs include Avonex and Rebif. Betaseron is a MS Interferon 1-b drug.
Just what is Interferon?
Interferons are proteins that are produced and released in most vertebrates, including humans, via lymphocytes which are a type of white blood cells found in the presence of pathogens like viruses, parasites, tumor cells and parasites.
The job of these proteins is to allow cells in the body to communicate and activate the defensive immune system. They interfere (thus the name) with the ability of a virus to replicate in a host cell. Interferons activate the body’s natural killer cells and macrophages so that they detect infections and tumors and they increase the healthy cells ability to fight off new viral infections. There are many types of interferons approved for different problems like chronic hepatitis, cancer, genital herpes, and Multiple Sclerosis. Interferon betas are the IFNs that are of interest to those researching MS.
