Patent ID: 8759314

Claim:
A method for decreasing or inhibiting the accumulation of new active brain lesions, or decreasing or inhibiting an increase in the volume of gadolinium-enhancing brain lesions in a human subject afflicted with multiple sclerosis, comprising periodically administering to the human subject a pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a therapeutically effective amount of an oligonucleotide having the structure: 5′- Me C Me UG AGT Me CTG TTT Me U Me C Me C A Me U Me U Me C Me U-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 1) wherein a) each of the 19 internucleotide linkages of the oligonucleotide is an O, O-linked phosphorothioate diester; b) the nucleotides at the positions 1 to 3 from the 5′ end are 2′-O-(2-methoxyethyl) modified ribonucleosides; c) the nucleotides at the positions 4 to 12 from the 5′ end are 2′-deoxyribonucleosides; d) the nucleotides at the positions 13 to 20 from the 5′ end are 2′-O-(2-methoxyethyl) modified ribonucleosides; and e) all cytosines are 5-methylcytosines ( Me C), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of the oligonucleotide, so as to thereby decrease or inhibit the accumulation of new active brain lesions, or decrease or inhibit an increase in the volume of gadolinium-enhancing brain lesions in a human subject afflicted with multiple sclerosis.