MS drug shows promise

The drug could help two types of patient

A drug which stops body tissues from getting inflamed may be able to tackle both multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.

Trials of natalizumab published on Thursday suggest that it cut the number of relapses suffered by MS patients with the "relapsing-remitting" form of the disease.

It also reduced the signs of the disease in the brain.

In Crohn's disease patients, two or more doses of the drug drove the illness into "remission" more often than in patients given a "placebo" drug.

The symptoms of MS and Crohn's are very different.

In MS, the sheath that lines nerves in the spinal cord and brain is progressively damaged, leading to "relapses" with a variety of symptoms including partial paralysis.

Inflamed

In Crohn's, inflammation of the colon causes not only diarrhoea and severe pain, but can lead to progressive damage.

However, unwanted inflammation is the root of both illnesses.

The drug works by damping down this problem by stopping immune cells from joining in and amplifying the inflammation.

The MS results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved 213 patients in the UK, US and Canada.

They showed, both through brain scanning and monitoring MS symptoms, that the drug appeared to be of benefit.

There were fewer MS attacks, and the damage to the brain appeared to be less.

Life better

In Crohn's patients, there were significant improvements in "quality of life".

Dr Subrata Ghosh, a consultant gastroenterologist involved in the Crohn's study at Hammersmith Hospital in London, said: "Natalizumab targets the underlying problem in Crohn's disease in an unique way and may provide a meaningful alternative to currently available Crohn's therapies."

Mike O'Donovan, the chief executive of the MS Society, said: "The results look very promising and we hope that the studies now in progress will confirm the potential of another treatment to help control the symptoms of this devastating disease."