Leukemia drug alemtuzumab appears to reduce or even reverse many of the disabilities caused by multiple sclerosis when given in the early stages of the disease, according to a study in the Oct. 23 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

An unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, multiple sclerosis can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted.

Health experts believe MS is an autoimmune disease – one in which the body, through its immune system, launches a defensive attack against its own tissues. In the case of MS, it is the nerve-insulating myelin that comes under assault. The degeneration of myelin affects nerves by lessening their ability to conduct signals. These problems in nerve transmission cause complications in movement, sensation, cognition, vision and other functions.

MS is also known to cause muscle weakness, severe fatigue, loss of balance and coordination, and depression. Which symptoms affect which patients depends upon the particular nerve transmissions that are interrupted.

Previous studies on mice have showed that that when consumed in large amounts, coffee was found to protect against multiple sclerosis. Now researchers at the University of Cambridge found that alemtuzumab, used to treat leukemia, was about 70 percent more effective than another drug already widely used to treat MS, beta-interferon. The study involved 334 patients diagnosed with early-stage relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form of the disease. Patients given beta-interferon showed signs of progressively worsening disability.

However, the drug caused significant complications, the researchers noted. The most serious complication resulting from alemtuzumab treatment was immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a bleeding disorder, which led to the death of one patient. Treatment with alemtuzumab was discontinued after patients developed the disorder. Also nearly one in four patients treated with the drug also developed treatment-related thyroid complications.

“Alemtuzumab is the most promising experimental drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and we are hopeful that the phase three trials will confirm that it can both stabilise and allow some recovery of what had previously been assumed to be irreversible disabilities,” lead researcher Professor Alastair Compston said.