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These new findings were presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) along with new confirming MRI findings from the 15-month study, which showed that the decreases in clinical and MRI markers of disease activity, were accompanied by favorable effects on disease burden and irreversible brain tissue damage as shown by significant decreases in the accumulation of lesion load, and significant reduction in the proportion of lesions evolving into chronic black holes.
"This combination therapy is emerging as a promising treatment option for patients who have active RRMS, or who are not responding optimally to traditional first-line therapies," said Tim Vollmer, M.D., Director, Neuroimmunology Program, Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and the primary investigator in this study. "This study builds on earlier studies that demonstrate the effect of COPAXONE(r) on disease activity and inflammation in the central nervous system of RRMS patients," he added.
Data analysis surrounding the mode of action of this novel treatment strategy was also presented at the AAN, in which researchers attributed the benefit of the combination of therapies to the combined anti-inflammatory effect of COPAXONE(r) and mitoxantrone.
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"These data shed new light on the concept of treating MS by first suppressing the auto-aggressive immune system with an immunosuppressant, and then favorably modifying its activity with an immunomodulator such as COPAXONE(r)," said Amit Bar-Or, M.D., FRCPC, assistant professor, Director of the Experimental Therapeutics at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and primary investigator of the immunological study.
About the Analyses
The analysis, Reductions in MRI Disease Activity and Relapse
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