This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

does anyone know if there has been any studies or research done that compares the life span of those that took ms drugs and those that did not? i know the studies recently came out that they did not do much good. but what about the side effects and any damage they were doing to the body. i would think the real possibility of harm to other organs in our body would shorten the life span. it would certainly create a need for other drugs to combat damage.--anybody know?


"below is part of an article i found but i've found no studies say similar to the one topic about smoking study shortening the life span"

Medication side effects could be a factor which influences life expectancy. Side effects associated with MS medication range from relatively mild symptoms such as flu-like or irritation symptoms to more extreme symptoms such as toxicity in the heart or even leukemia. Of note, two medications for MS called natalizumab and mitoxantrone have severe potential side effects and are usually not suggested as first-line medications. Potentially negative side effects of the medication means that the physician must constantly monitor the patient's reaction to the MS medication.

I haven't seen any comparative studies between MS medication users and those who have not. But a number of years ago I learned that the average life expectancy of someone who had MS was about 5 years less than the average. Don't know if that has changed but any life insurance agent would be able to find that info.

It would be interesting, though, to see the comparisons between those who have used these drugs and those who haven't. I'm not sure if there would be a lot of data as yet because the DMDs didn't come along until the early 90's and the more potent drugs such as Tysabri haven't been around all that long. And I doubt it's the kind of study the drug companies would encourage!

Harry

by "potent" you mean deadly.

As I side, I do remember that Rebif included a warning regarding increased Suicide risks. I would be surprised that those numbers would be included in any numbers by the manufacturers, as well.

That warning is in the official "Prescribing Information" on the rebif.com website. Here's the link to it:

http://www.emdserono.com/cmg.emdserono_ ... _19765.pdf


It's easy to find the entire "Prescribing Information" and "Patient Medication Guide" for all the MS meds online. The one above notes that the problem is increased with all the interferon compounds, not just Rebif.

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Dx'd with MS & HNPP (hereditary peripheral neuropathy) 7/03 but must have had MS for 30 yrs before that. I've never taken meds for MS or MS symptoms except 1 yr experiment on LDN. (I found diet, exercise, sleep, humor, music help me the most.)

The warning was in the info pages that came with the actual rebif medication.

Right. Those patient insert documents are on the links that are posted on their websites also.

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Dx'd with MS & HNPP (hereditary peripheral neuropathy) 7/03 but must have had MS for 30 yrs before that. I've never taken meds for MS or MS symptoms except 1 yr experiment on LDN. (I found diet, exercise, sleep, humor, music help me the most.)