This the first of our Barts-MS non-personalised, more factual, blog posts. We, Barts-MS, hope you will find this format more agreeable. Happiness is associated with better health outcomes, which may apply to people living with MS and their families. More research needs to be done in this area before any definitive statements can be made in relation to applying happiness therapy as part of the...
Firstly, why the incredible hesitancy among some medics to flip the pyramid? Or at least break away from the Beta-interferons/Glatiramer Acetate as ‘safe’ fallback options, even when the research suggests that these days, the older first generation drugs give suboptimal outcomes compared to the modern crop. The MS neurologists that I spoke to all advocate versions of outlining the options...
Below is the first case report of fulminant hepatitis owing to echovirus 25 in an MSers on ocrelizumab. Please note continuous anti-CD20 therapy takes out your B-cells and prevents you from forming germinal centres (where B-cells get educated to make antibodies, i.e. the B-cell’s Universities) in lymph nodes and the spleen. In other words, ocrelizumab treatment causes functional splenectomy...
The longer I work in MS the more I realize how unpredictable it is. There are complications in diagnosis, in assessing treatment efficacy, in prognosticating, and in achieving homogeneity in clinical practice. The complications are complicated. But what if you have a test done, albeit quite randomly and it tells you something bad is going to happen in the near future – would you ignore it...
Abstract BACKGROUND: Teriflunomide is contraindicated in pregnancy. Some pregnancies have occurred despite guidance to use effective contraception. OBJECTIVES:To report outcomes of pregnancies occurring in teriflunomide clinical trials and the post-marketing setting. METHODS: Outcomes are summarized for pregnancies in teriflunomide monotherapy clinical trials and the post-marketing setting (data...
Another alemtuzumab-related post, this time in relation to alemtuzumab-associated liver injury, which has been also been included as a complication of alemtuzumab treatment in the EMA’s SmPC (summary of product characteristics). Liver or hepatic injury can occur as part of a drug-induced injury as seen in case 2 below or as a delayed, presumably autoimmune, condition as in case 1 below...
After yesterday’s post on alemtuzumab-related posts, many people are asking about haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), which has been included as a complication of alemtuzumab treatment as is now in the SmPC (summary of product characteristics). HLH is a condition in which the body makes too many activated macrophages and lymphocytes. People with HLH usually develop systemic symptoms, which...
Hello Peeps, for regular blog readers you know that I am the funny one, who can light up your day with a smile and a bit of light relief. For people attending ProfGs clinics who don’t want to read this look at the Red The neuros are the serious ones in grey suits who tell you how it is and dole our the good and bad news and sometimes tell you about their inner sensitive self. I woud say I...
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started a review of alemtuzumab following recet reoports of sde effects affecting the heart, blood vessels, liver and immune system. These side effects are rare but potentially serious. As a temporary measure while the review is being carried out, the EMA has advised that alemtuzumab should only be started in people with relapsing remitting MS that...
Use of multiple sclerosis medicine Lemtrada restricted while EMA review is ongoing EMA has started a review of the multiple sclerosis medicine Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) following new reports of immune-mediated conditions (caused by the body’s defence system not working properly) and problems with the heart and blood vessels with the medicine, including fatal cases. As a temporary measure while the...
It seems this is PML week. first PML on alemtuzumab and now this….a treatment for PML or is that that Two I first thought wow….but then I read the title and I thought that maybe I’m being a bit thick here because I have seen a few people wetting their pants on twitter with excitement on this news, but maybe I am missing something? You have a disease that causes white blood cells...