A new study found that the Tuberculosis vaccine could prevent multiple sclerosis from developing during its early symptoms.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), multiple sclerosis is a central nervous system disease in which the person's own immune system attacks the healthy cells like the brain and the spinal cord. Most patients experience permanent disability and even death. The cause of the disease is still uncertain although there were earlier theories that it is genetic and only triggered by environmental factors.
Its early symptoms usually manifest between ages 20 and 40. Early warning signs include blurred or double vision, thinking problems, clumsiness, loss of balance, and weakness in an arm or leg.
Researchers from the Center for Experimental Neurological Therapies led by Dr. Giovanni Ristori concluded that the 50 percent of those diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) have displayed the symptoms couple of years before the official diagnosis. They called it "clinically isolated syndrome."
According to the study, those people who experienced the first symptoms of the "clinically isolated syndrome" and were given the TB vaccine, the probability of multiple sclerosis developing was reduced.
Researchers recruited 73 participants who have shown clinically isolated syndrome. About 45 percent of them were injected with TB vaccine while the remaining 55 percent was given placebo.
They monitored the development of the participants through MRI brain scans during the first six months. They searched for brain lesions which are linked to the multiple sclerosis disease. They found that almost 20 percent of those under placebo developed lesions in their brain – an indication that may develop to multiple sclerosis while only there was only nine percent from those administered with the TB vaccine.
The year after, the participants were given the multiple sclerosis drug, interferon beta-1a. Thereafter, their medications were dependent solely on their neurologists.
In five years time, they underwent an assessment to check whether they have developed multiple sclerosis. They found that only 40 percent of those who had TB vaccines were positive with multiple sclerosis, while those under placebo had 70 percent.
"There seems to be complex, multiple effects on brain inflammation," explained Ristori to WebMD about the effects of the vaccine. Although this is still uncertain and needing further study, "It is possible that a safe, handy and cheap approach will be available immediately following the first (episode of symptoms suggesting MS).
It is also possible that those positive with multiple sclerosis could also benefit from the vaccine since there was notable improvement in the brain lesions for those who were injected with the vaccine. However, the TB vaccine is not yet to be recommended for prevention or treatment of the disease because more research work is required.
The study was published in the Dec. 4 issue of the online journal Neurology.
