Newly approved multiple sclerosis drug given to first U.S. patients today in Cullman

"We're not saying it is a cure for MS, but for 70 percent, it is a 5-year cure." http://bit.ly/1FJyo4n

CULLMAN, Alabama - Today in a treatment room in the basement of a small medical building, Leah Quartano, 27, lay on her back as a newly approved drug dripped into a vein.

By getting infused with Lemtrada in this town 50 miles north of Birmingham, the New Orleans resident was making history of sorts.

She is one of six multiple sclerosis patients in the U.S. -- all in Cullman under the care of Dr. Christopher LaGanke -- to first get the drug, also known as alemtuzumab, outside of clinical trials.

Although approved in 40 countries for MS treatment, the drug was surprisingly rejected earlier this year for use in the United States where there are an estimated 400,000 with the disease.

LaGanke and longtime patient Katy Mena-Berkley -- both of whom lost their mothers to MS -- spoke out strongly against the rejection. The FDA agreed to reconsider several months later and approved it Nov. 14.

The patients today will be doing the infusion therapy six hours a day, for five straight days. Then she will come back in a year and do it again for three days.

After that: maybe no more treatments whatsoever. No more pills, self-injections, infusions every month or week.

"Absolute freedom," said Quartano, a New Orleans resident who was diagnosed while a student at Auburn University. "That's the best way to describe it. It will be like having a normal life."

That is the hope and promise anyway.

LaGanke has been conducting clinical trials for years.

For that reason, he was set up and ready to go when the Food and Drug Administration approved Lemtrada a couple of weeks ago, and received the first certification in the country to administer the drug.

LaGanke said the studies show 70 percent of the patients after five years required no further treatment because of the disease.

"We're not saying it is a cure for MS, but for 70 percent, it is a 5-year cure," he said. "Time will tell."

Although there are 11 MS drugs on the market, LaGanke said for some patients Lemtrada, a product of Sanofi, parent company of Genzyme, might be the best choice.

But it also might not be the best choice.

There are possible side effects, including flu-like symptoms for up to a week after treatment, thyroid abnormalities, which can be managed with medication, and reactivation of herpes or shingles, also treatable, among others, the doctor said.

"It's something for each MS patient to discuss with their treating physician to see if it might be right," he said.

Timothy Brown, 25, of Montgomery, who was sitting near Quartano today getting an infusion of the drug, is excited about the promise. Doctors discovered three lesions on his brain, an effect of MS, just last week, he said.

"I'm certainly hoping the cure actually works," Brown said.

 

Re: Newly approved multiple sclerosis drug given to first U.S. patients today in Cull

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