- Treatment not only stops the disease from advancing but may help patients recover from disability
- Scientists have spent 25 years developing treatment at Cambridge
- Alemtuzumab infusion is given in two short courses over two years
- Despite costing £56,000, NICE has ruled treatment is cost-effective
By Jenny Hope
Published: 01:16, 28 May 2014 | Updated: 13:13, 28 May 2014
Landmark discovery: The brain of someone with MS, which can leave sufferers unable to walk – but new treatment could reverse the effects of the disease
A new treatment for Multiple Sclerosis not only stops the disease from advancing but may help patients recover from disability.
Remarkable results for the drug alemtuzumab mean it has been approved for use on the NHS and is now available in England.
Originally a pioneering cancer therapy, Cambridge University scientists have spent almost 25 years developing it as a treatment for MS sufferers.
Trials involving more than 1,500 patients show treatment led to fewer relapses compared with multiple jabs of the treatment beta interferon each week, cutting further disability and even allowing some existing damage to recover.