Better still, this reduction included mainly the serious relapses. However, only five patients had to stop the treatment because of side-effects. The NHS Executive has licenced the use of both interferon beta 1a and beta 1b for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, provided it is prescribed by a neurologist. However, some health authorities have chosen to ignore the guidelines. A spokesman for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said the mounting evidence that the inferon betas were effective made it imperative that health authorities sanctioned their use.
Nobody knows exactly how interferon beta works.
Nevertheless, when present in the body in sufficient quantities, it reduces the output of another chemical called interferon gamma, that is known to stimulate the destructive activity of the immune system. In multiple sclerosis patients interferon gamma causes the immune system wrongly to identify body cells are foreign invaders. As a result, the myelin sheath coating nerves in the brain and spinal cord is destroyed by mistake. As a consequence, transmission between nerve cells slows down and becomes irregular, leading to loss of balance, reduced vision and bouts of localised paralysis. Eventually, patients may become totally paralysed and wheelchair-bound.