Fabiana Marinelli | Search PubMed

PubMed2004

Corticosteroids treatment.

Corticosteroids (Cs) are widely used for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) acute relapses because of the potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties. As for patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS, short-term administrations of Cs markedly less severity of symptoms and promote faster recovery of clinical attacks. Chronic administrations of Cs significantly diminish the formation of T1 hypointense lesions and the progression of brain atrophy. As for patients with secondary progressive MS treatment with Cs delays the time to onset of sustained disability. Finally the association between methylprednisolone and interferon beta (IFNbeta) leads the recovery of active lesions at greater extent and reduces the formation of neutralizing antibodies (NABs) against IFNbeta in patients with RRMS.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

PubMed2004

Comparison of the effects of acetyl L-carnitine and amantadine for the treatment of fatigue in multiple sclerosis: results of a pilot, randomised, double-blind, crossover trial.

Treatment with acetyl L-carnitine (ALCAR) has been shown to improve fatigue in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, but there have been no trials on the effect of ALCAR for treating fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS). To compare the efficacy of ALCAR with that of amantadine, one of the drugs most widely used to treat MS-related fatigue, 36 MS patients presenting fatigue were enrolled in a randomised, double-blind, crossover study. Patients were treated for 3 months with either amantadine (100 mg twice daily) or ALCAR (1 g twice daily). After a 3-month washout period, they crossed over to the alternative treatment for 3 months. Patients were rated at baseline and every 3 months according to the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the primary endpoint of the study. Secondary outcome variables were: Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Social Experience Checklist (SEC). Six patients withdrew from the study because of adverse reactions (five on amantadine and one on ALCAR). Statistical analysis showed significant effects of ALCAR compared with amantadine for the Fatigue Severity Scale (p = 0.039). There were no significant effects for any of the secondary outcome variables. The results of this study show that ALCAR is better tolerated and more effective than amantadine for the treatment of MS-related fatigue.

Acetylcarnitine↗