Strategies To Counteract Side Effects Of New MS Therapies
Monday, September 14, 2009 - 12:21
in Health & Medicine
The drawback of new immunotherapies in multiple sclerosis (MS) include severe infections that can be fatal. For example, treatment with natalizumab, which reduces the immune surveillance of the brain, can lead to the development of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a typically fatal form of viral encephalitis. Researchers recently employed plasmapheresis to eliminate the active pharmaceutical agent and thus clear the virus from the brain.