New Drug for MS...dangerous

There is a new drug called "alemtuzumab" being tested that has the potential to treat early sympptoms of multiple sclerosis. In multiple sclerosis, or MS, the immune system attacks myelin, the sheath that enables nerve cells to conduct impulses between the brain and other parts of the body. What this new drug will do is deplete the white blood cells that attack myelin, and replenish them with normal white blood cells.

The headline in USA Today reads "Cancer drug shows promise against MS, but with some risks". The article talks about what the drug can do and its great potential, but makes it a major point to warn people that the drug needs a lot of mending before it is released. According to USA Today, "Even though the drug is remarkable, toxic effects ??? considerably dampen any enthusiasm for its routine use in patients with multiple sclerosis until more is known about its long-term safety and sustained efficacy." One person in a 334 person test study actually died from the side effects of the drug.

CNN's headline reads "Leukemia drug gives hope to MS sufferers". The main difference between the two stories is that CNN's is completely otimistic and fails to acknowledge that the side effects can be extremely serious, even fatal. "Symptoms of the disease can include loss of sight and mobility, depression, fatigue and cognitive problems. There is no cure, and few effective treatments." According to CNN, "In trials among sufferers, alemtuzumab cut the number of attacks and helped them recover lost functions. It even apparently helped repair damaged brain tissue so individuals were less disabled than at the start of the study." There is no mention of the person who died testing the treatment. The final sentence of the story reveals that further research must be carried out before the product is released.

Both stories are optimistic about the possibilities of this new drug. USA Today seems more realistic in their approach to giving people real information about the product, where as CNN talks it up like it could be the best thing in world, almost as if they are trying to sell it before it even hits the market. The possibilities seem promising, but if anyone is dying from the side effects than that information should surely be included in the story, so that people are aware.