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The results of the optic neuritis trial in Oxford are very good. Patients vision improved significantly following treatment
with Aimspro.
The MS patients who took part in the double blind trial at the John Radcliffe Hospital showed improvement in visual field
scores over a two week course of treatment.
These highly significant improvements in the patients sight were observed after only three injections, so the possibility
of a placebo effect was excluded. There were no side effects.
This is the first time that any treatment has been shown conclusively to reduce an aspect of disability in the chronic
phases of MS to this degree.
Dr BryanYoul, a consultant in Clinical Neurophysiology at the Royal Free Hospital in London, whose own findings on Aimspro
in MS and other neurological conditions are about to be published, said: “These trial results are hugely significant
and have wider implications for the treatment of MS.
Although this was a small trial, the Oxford neurologists have shown that a brief course of three well tolerated sub-cutaneous
injections of Aimspro can demonstrably improve the condition of MS patients. They echo other clinical observations which show
this drug is able to improve mobility, bladder control and energy levels among MS patients.
The Oxford trial confirms Dr Youl;s own findings in observational studies carried out last year in London. He said:Within
one hour of injection there was a significant improvement in colour vision, and comparison of pre-treatment and follow-up
data also showed significant benefit.
He added:Aimspro has a powerful and often rapid effect, producing dramatic improvement. We believe it to be restoring
conduction in nerve and muscle fibres damaged by MS and other central and peripheral nervous system disorders, probably by
an effect on biological structures within nerve and muscle known as voltage gated sodium channels. There is also clinical
evidence to suggest that there may also be a repair process taking place in the longer term, which may reflect the medication;s
powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
Oxford University;s Professor of Neurology, Paul Matthews, who led the trial, said:
Using Aimspro we found that in a tertiary outcome measure there was a significant treatment effect on visual fields and
the drug was well tolerated. It is encouraging that a possible effect of Aimspro occurred relatively rapidly. If this is a
true result, it would be consistent with the fact that Aimspro has an immunological mechanism. This needs to be investigated
further."
The Aimspro trial at the John Radcliffe was a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, crossover trial, independently
designed and analysed by two of Britain;s leading MS experts, Prof. Paul Matthews and Dr. Jackie Palace, and their research
fellow Dr. Georgina Burke. Patients and researchers were;blinded as to whether participants were receiving Aimspro or placebo.
The crossover design meant that each patient received two weeks (three injections) of medication, and two weeks of placebo.
"The results of this trial in terms of Aimspro's effect on visual impairment are encouraging. We studied vision because
it can guide expectations for other functional impairments caused by MS. By studying the effects of a drug on vision in patients
with optic neuritis we can reasonably expect to understand possible effects of the drug on the disease as it affects other
parts of the brain. As far as we know, the factors that are responsible for impairment of vision in multiple sclerosis associated
with optic neuritis are the same as those that impair other systems in the brain."
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