Cholesterol-busting drugs on trial as MS treatment that 'could transform the lives of thousands'

Sudarshna Shana, 58, from Ilford, is one of the first people to be enrolled in the multiple sclerosis trial
Sophie Goodchild
Sophie Goodchild12 September 2018

A ground-breaking trial for multiple sclerosis will begin today using cholesterol-busting drugs.

Experts hope the £6 million project, led by University College London, will transform the lives of thousands with the debilitating disease.

The MS-STAT2 study is the biggest in the UK for secondary progressive MS.

This form of the condition affects around half of 100,000 people in the UK with MS, a disease that damages the coating protecting nerves. No licensed treatments currently exist that can slow or halt its advancement. Those already diagnosed with MS often go on to develop secondary progressive.

Their disability increases until everyday activities such as walking or getting dressed become a major challenge. The trial is co-funded by the MS Society and will involve 1,180 people. It is hoped the treatment will slow or stop disability progression,

Researchers at 30 centres across the country will use a statin drug that is already used for lowering cholesterol. Simvastatin costs just a few pence a day and has already been shown in an earlier smaller trial to increase mobility. This is after two years using the medication. Jeremy Chataway from UCL told the Standard that simvastatin “could change lives”.

The consultant neurologist, who is leading the six-year study, said: “People with this form of the condition have been waiting decades for a drug that works. This is why there’s such excitement around being able to start the trial. While it’s still early days, we believe simvastatin could change lives.”

Sudarshna Shana from Ilford is one of the first to be enrolled for the trial. The 58-year-old learned she had secondary progressive in 2016 around 20 years after her initial MS diagnosis. The mother-of-two now has to use a wheelchair to leave the house and her husband Arvind, 63, is her carer. The former Post Office clerk hopes the drug could give her a normal life again.

She said: “It’s like always having a piece missing from a puzzle. Every day I have to start over again which is so frustrating. I have lots of falls and can only go short distances. It would be so great to have my independence back.”

This week, the NHS rationing body NICE rejected ocrelizumab. This is the first ever drug shown to effectively treat primary progressive MS, another form of the disease.

The MS Society said that finding drugs that protect nerves from damage will be an “important breakthrough” for treating all forms of the condition.

To be considered to participate in MS-STAT2 register at ms-stat2.info

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