LSUHSC-S: Breakthrough in MS Treatment Announced in Shreveport,LA

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LSUHSC-S: Breakthrough in MS Treatment Announced in Shreveport,LA
Pilot Study published in Archives of Neurology gives hope for MS patients

By: Tom Pace, Executive Editor, SBLive!
December 11, 2007


There’s hope on the horizon for patients stricken with Multiple Sclerosis, according to clinical study research conducted at LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport.

Calling it a “Breakthrough Treatment” in the battle against Multiple Sclerosis, Dr. Alireza Minagar, M.D., LSUHSC-S, an Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, collaborated on the study, with colleague and, research scientist Dr. Steven Alexander, Ph.D., and Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at LSUHSC-S which took place over a four month period.

The single-center trial at LSUHSC-S involved 15 patients with relapsing-remitting MS, who had been taking interferon for at least six months, and were experiencing symptoms and developing new brain lesions.
(Multiple Sclerosis, better known as “MS” involves inflammation that destroys parts of the brain, along with progressive degeneration of brain tissue.)

During the study at LSUHSC-S, participants took 100 milligrams daily of the antibiotic “doxycycline” in addition to their interferon therapy. They underwent monthly neurological exams to detect brain lesions, and blood work to monitor safety.