Quote:
Originally Posted by lady_express_44
That appears to be a "study" of some sort, possibly sanctioned by Biogen. I'm quite sure that the majority of EX-US patients have NOT used stem cell treatments, and/or that there are no US patients who've used other strong immunosuppressants at some point before Tysabri. 
If immunosuppression is a potential risk factor though, can you link to a definition of how long people are supposed to wait/dependant on what drug, before going on Tysabri, Chris? I haven't (personally) seen that criteria detailed even for US patients yet.
It was just a small study, but it is interesting that the results show that THOSE strong immunosuppressants didn't seem to affect the outcome.
I hope they are undergoing bigger (and longer) studies, that might give them more conclusive evidence that immunsuppression either does or doesn't influence the development of PML. Maybe they are waiting on those results as we speak, and that this may be why they think they are getting closer to answers ...
Cherie |
Cherie,
The study was an example of what European Docs are trying relative to Tysabri. I've also seen discussion of German Docs liberally using heavy immunosuppressants as well. I'm personally glad patients with no other alternatives are being given the option (Versus here in the US where Tysabri can't be used off-label.) to take Tysabri. Clearly this can have an effect on the rate of PML seen with Tysabri usage in Europe.
I have seen no formal documents listing wash-out periods for various drugs. My doc made me go through a 6 week wash-out for Rebif. I've heard others with ABCR wash-out periods of 4 weeks. I've seen some other posts about a 6 month wash-out for Novantrone. The trouble with wash-outs for these more powerful drugs is that they sometimes have residual effects for very long periods - example being Novantrone patients developing Leukemia 18 months after the last dose of the drug.
Chris