SLU Research Combines MS Treatments with goal of Greater Benefit

Researchers at Saint Louis University are recruiting volunteers for a study aimed at finding a better treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis. Doctor Florian Thomas, the Director of the University’s Multiple Sclerosis Center, says participants will be put into three groups. Members of one group will receive the drug Avonex, which is used to treat multiple sclerosis; those in a second group will receive Copaxone, a different drug used to treat MS; and those in a third group will be given doses of both drugs. It is hoped that at the end of a three year study, scientists will be able to determine whether the combination of Avonex and Copaxone – each with its different pathways – will yield prosive results for those suffering from MS. At least 70 research centers will recruit 1,000 participants, with Saint Louis University looking for 15 volunteers. Recruits must be between the ages of 18 and 60, must have the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis, and cannot have ever taken either of the medications being used in this study.