Thalidomide
 

Has anyone heard of this drug being used for MS? There is a little bit of research and documentation online but not much. Today is the first I have heard of this drug being used for MS.

The only thing that I can find is this very technical paper.

What they found is that lenalidomide (a thalidomide analog) blocked progression of EAE, which is a mouse model of MS.

They suggest that lenalidomide (and maybe other thalidomide analogs?) is a promising therapeutic drug candidate for attenuating inflammatory responses and reducing neuronal demyelination in MS.

Lenalidomide regulates CNS autoimmunity by promoting M2 macrophages polarization | Cell Death & Disease

Why has my neurologist never mentioned this drug to me?

I have read about it extensively today and while a lot of the reports are too clinical in nature for me to understand I have gotten the basic message that Thalidomide has been shown to have positive effects on relieving MS symptoms and slowing down the demyelination process.

I'm going to ask about this drug when I go to the Neuro on the 6th.

"lenalidomide could alleviate the symptoms of EAE mainly through decreased inflammatory cells infiltration in CNS and strong attenuating typical demyelination."

I hope that your meeting with your neurologist about lenalidomide goes well.

I’ve been researching since you posted about it, took a while to find information from more than one source. But it seems they likely aren’t using it due to the extreme hazards it posts to pregnant women along with a few other health hazards from the medication but the worst is unborn children. Now if you’re past child bearing age, it may be worth it to try, but also keep in mind it has a strong sedative reaction as well.

From all I was able to find (and sorry for not saving links), it seems it’s only being used currently as an extreme measure in PPMS which has reached pretty much its peak of disabling severity, or for Non-child bearers with PPMS who aren’t capable of taking other dmd medications due to side effects or allergies.

This medication is the primary reason behind the formation of the FDA. And is certainly not a safer alternative medication by any means, your doctor probably hasn’t mentioned it because the risk to benefit is far too skewed towards risk over benefit from taking it.