| This editorial on the multiple sclerosis drugs is an
opinion. It cannot be viewed as indelible 'fact'. Nevertheless, having
reviewed and investigated the drugs available for the treatment of multiple
sclerosis, I am compelled to offer this opinion because I feel the risks
involved in the use of the drugs known as interferons or glatiramer
acetate are considerably understated.
First of all, it must be understood by anyone considering
or currently using multiple sclerosis drugs, that the mechanisms by
which the drugs exert their influence on the course of multiple sclerosis
exacerbations is unknown. By definition this makes them experimental.
Statistically, it appears to me that there is a very
thin line between the placebo control groups and those exposed to the
drugs although this appears to satisfy the requirements for approval
for use in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, the qualifying conditions
of which I admit to knowing little about.
What concerns me greatly are the reported side effects
of the multiple sclerosis drugs. With the interferons drugs group, in
my opinion, the most savage is the potential to induce hepatic dysfunction.
Perversely, use of interferon drugs has been implicated in worsening,
or inducing, psychiatric conditions in some patients with MS. What this
means in practice is that using these drugs can create, where there
was none; suicide ideation and severe depression in some individuals.
With glatiramer acetate, the 'immune complexes' are
deposited in the renal glomeruli, which to me suggests that kidney functioning
could be severely impaired with long-term drugs use, although as yet,
there is no firm scientific evidence to support such an opinion.
I am also greatly concerned by what appears to be the
decreased ability to fight off common infections such as
oral moniliasis
and the apparent digestive system implications which also appear to
be suggested by ulcerative stomatitis, bowel urgency and salivary gland
enlargement after using ms drugs.
There are also highly worrying reports, again, these
cannot yet be directly linked with exposure to either interferon or
glatiramer acetate drug exposure; of urogenital dysfunctioning such
as interference with the normal cycling of periods in women and in severe
events, a wide range of serious urogenital disorders.
It may well be that it is not the direct action of the
multiple sclerosis drugs causing these events but rather their effects
on limiting the functioning of the immune system ability to fight off
pathogens already present in the body. Time will eventually tell.
What is not in dispute, is that there are documented
and substantiated potentially devastating side effects which are associated
with exposure to both drugs groups; interferons and glatiramer acetate.
There will of course be those who are of the opinion
that I am being alarmist in pointing to the potential side effects of
the drugs and that there are many people who experience few adverse
events. This may be true to a point, but I would draw their attention
to the number of reported adverse events, even amongst pre-marketing
control groups and the relatively small number of participants in the
groups who have reported significant adverse events while using the
ms drugs.
The evidence for the effectiveness of both types of
drug point to early intervention as being the most effective in delaying
exacerbations. However, given the potential for adverse and possibly
devastating side effects from drugs use, including paradoxically, autoimmune
hepatitis, the decision to embark on a course of multiple sclerosis
drugs treatment is not an automatic one and should never be taken
without due regard for the possible consequences. |
