MEN WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS NEEDED FOR RESEARCH

Young men who suffer from early stages of multiple sclerosis are needed to participate in research of a new drug for treating the disease.

The research project, based at Washington University in St. Louis, is one of 13 studies of the drug called Myloral or oral myelin.

The test will evaluate the effect of the drug on 500 MS patients by monitoring the number of MS attacks they experience.

Dr. John L. Trotter, medical director of the St. Louis project, said only men are needed for the research. Women needed for the study already have been enrolled.

To be eligible for the research, men must be 18-45 years old and have had two diagnosed MS attacks within the last two years. They must be in the early stages of the disease.

Some patients will receive the active drug and others will receive a placebo. None will know whether or not they are receiving the drug. Routine examinations and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) are part of the study.

There is no charge for the drug, evaluations or MRIs to patients who participate.

The substance being tested is made from cow brains. Myelin is the insulating sheath that covers nerves in the brain and spinal cord.

Researchers think that myelin is attacked by the body's own immune system in people who have MS.

The result is a short circuit which leaves the patients with a range of symptoms that can include numbness and muscle weakness in the early stages of the disease. As MS advances, more severe disabilities may result.

In the research, patients will take four capsules daily before breakfast.

When myelin is ingested, a phenomenon known as oral tolerance occurs, Trotter said. This is the same mechanism that enables people to eat protein for nourishment without the body attacking the protein.

"We think the effect takes place in the small intestine," Trotter said. Researchers think white blood cells in the small intestine process proteins and suppress the immune response.

In essence, the body tolerates the myelin as a food protein, and the attacks on the myelin sheath in the brain and spinal column are suppressed.

The drug has been tested in animals with good results.

"It also showed promise in a preliminary trial with 30 people," Trotter said.

For more information about participating in the study, call nurse coordinator Barbara Abrams at 1-314-362-3371 or 1-800-839-9821.