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Allergy Drug Improves Function in Patients with Chronic Injury from MS?

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    Allergy Drug Improves Function in Patients with Chronic Injury from MS?

    Allergy Drug Improves Function in Patients with Chronic Injury from Multiple Sclerosis

    In Phase II Clinical Trial, Over-the-Counter Antihistamine Significantly Accelerated Nerve-Cell Signaling that had been Slowed by MS

    The researchers said that the Phase II results, published online on Oct. 10, 2017, in The Lancet, are the first in which a drug has been shown to reliably restore any brain function damaged by a neurological disease in human patients.

    “To the best of our knowledge this is the first time a therapy has been able to reverse deficits caused by MS. It’s not a cure, but it’s a first step towards restoring brain function to the millions who are affected by this chronic, debilitating disease,” said the trial’s principal investigator, Ari Green, MD, also Debbie and Andy Rachleff Distinguished Professor of Neurology, chief of the Division of Neuroinflammation and Glial Biology, and medical director of the UCSF Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroinflammation Center.


    Personal note: Under medical supervision, I will begin taking this medication on 10/23/2017. I will be taking the dermatological dose (2.68/BID), but still under the maximum recommended dose (2.68/TID).

    There are other medical reasons for me to be on clemastine fumarate, but if it will provide any relief from MS then hallelujah and amen.

    Complete story:
    https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2017/10/40...iple-sclerosis

    Lancet (original source):
    http://www.thelancet.com/journals/la...t?elsca1=tlxpr

    #2
    Hi Marco

    Thank you for providing these articles.

    Speeding up our nerve signals sounds wonderful! (Repairing myelin even better!)

    Best of luck with your trial.

    Looking forward to hearing that you have positive results!

    Take Care
    PPMS for 26 years (dx 1998)
    ~ Worrying will not take away tomorrow's troubles ~ But it will take away today's peace. ~

    Comment


      #3
      As always Marco, your post provides me with new knowledge and some hope. I will be talking to my neurologist about this. I wish you great success and I'll watch this thread for your follow-up posts.
      The best of luck to you and to us all !

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks for this Marco and yes! keep us up to date on your trial. Many of us will want to know how you're doing.
        1st sx '89 Dx '99 w/RRMS - SP since 2010
        Administrator Message Boards/Moderator

        Comment


          #5
          Thank you Marco, this is exciting news. I will also being following your post and I hope it helps you.
          God Bless Us All

          Comment


            #6
            thanks Marco for your constant help I read all your posts just don't always comment Craig

            Comment


              #7
              My new housemate just bought out all the local supply inventory for me. He mentioned it before and I said well hold off, maybe a compounding pharmacy could make it since some of the inert ingredients could be toxic in higher doses but he just went ahead. I'll let you know if my liver shuts down, but in other news I now have bad allergies out of nowhere, so perfect timing?

              Comment


                #8
                Update?

                I am hoping for an update from those trying this. After having this condition for 24 years you would think I would have become jaded by "break-through's" but I find myself optimistic despite all the let downs.

                Peace,
                Anna

                Comment


                  #9
                  The only side effects I've experienced are drowsiness, so I take a pill before I go to sleep and half of one mid-morning. I haven't had cog fog since starting, and have paired taking it with light cardio 3-4 times a week. I don't know if I'm allergic to the dog or the down comforter or something else, but as a bonus no more allergies. It seems like it's harder to get (are they yanking it to rebrand as a therapeutic with a $60 price tag?) so I bought a stockpile from Wal-Mart on-line. They even threw in some candy in the box lol. I know the exercise is a confounding variable, but anything to improve outcome overall. Anyone else trying it?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Hmmm????

                    I've noticed on-line is showing a lot of "out-of-stock" for this drug.

                    My guess, they don't want people buying it until they can repackage, relabel and reprice.

                    Thanks for the update!

                    Peace,
                    Anna

                    Comment


                      #11
                      It's been out of stock online since I heard something about this a while back. Even the pet strength was out of stock. At least it's still being looked at. :-/

                      Thanks for the heads up, Marco. Keep the news flowing.


                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by dyin_myelin View Post
                        My new housemate just bought out all the local supply inventory for me. He mentioned it before and I said well hold off, maybe a compounding pharmacy could make it since some of the inert ingredients could be toxic in higher doses but he just went ahead. I'll let you know if my liver shuts down, but in other news I now have bad allergies out of nowhere, so perfect timing?
                        Try eBay for the OTC strength. That is where I get my clemastine fumarate tablets. Most times the local pharmacy supply is limited and high priced. Clemastine fumarate tablets in the 1.34mg strength are over the counter (OCT) and do not require a prescription. The newer 2.68mg strength requires a doctor’s prescription.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Marco, are you still taking it ? If so, have you seen any improvements ?
                          Linda

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by lindaincolorado View Post
                            Marco, are you still taking it ? If so, have you seen any improvements ?
                            There were no noticeable improvements on to the medication. I have discontinued taking it (I already take enough medications).

                            Comment


                              #15
                              There appears to be another and possibly better drug for re-growing myelin and many pwMS are already on it. Here is the reasoning...

                              Muscarinic receptor (M3R) signaling prevents efficient remyelination.

                              Blocking that M3R signaling allows re-myelination.

                              Clemastine is a muscarinic receptor blocker which is why it promotes remyelination.

                              Solifenacin (Vesicare) efficiently blocks muscarinic receptor (M3R) signaling, thereby helping nerves remyelinate.

                              If you are on Vesicare, it is very likely helping re-grow your myelin.

                              Supporting article…

                              Bladder Drug (solifenacin, Vesicare) Re-Grows Myelin, Could Help Ease Multiple Sclerosis

                              Written by Jeri Burtchell | Published on March 9, 2015

                              An unlikely drug, already marketed to treat overactive bladder, has triggered the regrowth of myelin in mice.

                              http://www.healthline.com/health-new...ptoms-030915#2

                              Researchers from the University at Buffalo have discovered a way to jump start myelin repair using a drug meant to treat overactive bladder.

                              The breakthrough, announced in a recent study, could pave the way for reversal of nerve damage seen in many neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS).

                              A team led by Fraser Sim, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology, discovered that using solifenacin helped cells that make myelin, known as oligodendrocytes, do their job.

                              In MS, the fatty myelin insulation covering nerves in the spinal cord and brain is destroyed by immune cells. This results in the interruption of signals from the brain to the rest of the body. Symptoms range from mild numbness and tingling to memory loss to balance and mobility problems.

                              “In MS, myelin is damaged,” Dr. Jack Burks, chief medical officer of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) told Healthline. The damage “is followed by repair with more myelin producing cells being recruited to the damaged area. Unfortunately, as MS progresses, this repair mechanism is slowed.”

                              Related News: Zebrafish Help Researchers Uncover Clues to Myelin Formation »

                              Flipping the Switch

                              "Our hypothesis is that in MS, the oligodendrocyte progenitor cells seem to get stuck," Sim explained in a press release. "When these cells don't mature properly, they don't differentiate into myelinating oligodendrocytes."

                              A progenitor cell is a step up from a stem cell. It’s already on its way to becoming a specific type of adult cell, but it needs a boost to trigger that action. Sim and his team discovered this final transformation was being blocked. A receptor on the surface of the progenitor cells had been activated and the cells got stuck.

                              This same receptor is present on the surface of the smooth wall of the bladder. When it’s activated, contractions can occur leading to overactive bladder. The contractions can be controlled with the use of solifenacin, which works by blocking the receptor. This sparked the research team to wonder if the drug could help the stuck progenitor cells, too.

                              In order to measure how damaged nerves functioned before and after the treatment, Sim teamed up with Richard J. Salvi, Ph.D., director of the Center for Hearing and Deafness at University at Buffalo.

                              "When there isn’t enough myelin, the signaling slows down. And if you add myelin, you should see the signals speed up,"Fraser Sim, Ph.D., University at Buffalo.

                              They transplanted human oligodendrocytes treated with solifenacin into hearing-impaired mice unable to grow myelin.

                              It takes a specific length of time for a signal to pass from the ear, once a sound is heard, to the front part of the brain for processing.

                              “So in the readout,” said Sim, “you get waves that should have a certain time pattern. When there isn’t enough myelin, the signaling slows down. And if you add myelin, you should see the signals speed up.”

                              In the mice with transplanted cells, the response time improved.

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