This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Hello everyone. I am new here and I have been reading this forum since my diagnosis in April 2008. I had an incident in 2006 where my right forearm/hand went numb and I didn't have much muscle control. My neurologist could not find anything conclusive and decided we would monitor the hand. 2-3 weeks later I was back to normal and I never gave it another thought. In March 2008 I experienced numbness in my left leg and right foot, severe vertigo, bladder issues, and killer fatigue. At this point my doctor ordered an MRI of my brain and spine and found a lesion on the brain and 2 on the spine. After this I had a lumbar puncture which came back positive. My neurologist then referred me to another neuro who specializes in MS. I am getting ready to sign the consent form to enter the treatment naive Campath trial. It looks like there is an 80% chance that I will receive Campath vs. 20% chance for Rebif. The numbness in the legs and the vertigo are gone and I am feeling as good as I have ever felt. With this being said, I am having a tough time dealing with the thought of destroying my immune system in hopes of making things better in the future. I am trying to focus on the fact that the Campath might be able to stop any relapses and halt the progression. I think I have read every post on this site that has to do with Campath...seems like a good thing after the first 3 months or so. I can only hope that if I get the Campath I will look back on it and see that it was the right thing to do. Thanks to everyone out there. This forum is great.

Freiguy,

As someone who has had their two doses of Campath I'm happy to answer any questions you have - PM me.

Ian

bromley,

Is Campath going to be offered through NHS after the trials are finished? There appears to be a number of patients on this board that would possibly qualify for the treatment.

gwa

GWA

If the two Phase III trials are successful (effective + safe) then Campath would be submitted for approval as a specific MS treatment. If approved, it would then be available on the NHS. However, Campath is already a licenced treatment in the UK for a form of cancer, so neuros are allowed to use it for MS now and some have.

Ian