Research News: hope for a drug therapy?
www.ukrituximabtrial.org In summary UK charity Invest In ME has set the ball rolling for a UK confirmatory trial of the drug Ritximab and is working hard to raise funds.
At Invest in ME’s international conference in 2011, Norwegian cancer specialists Dr Øystein Fluge and Professor Olav Mella announced strikingly successful results in their pilot study of the immunotherapy drug Rituximab on ME/CFS patients. In that study [R1] 67% of ME/CFS patients had moderate to major improvement, compared to only 13% of controls.
The pattern of response indicated that ME may have an autoimmune component because rituximab works by temporarily wiping out immune-system B cells, which are implicated in autoimmune disease.
Multiple confirmatory trials are crucial because without evidence on safety and efficacy from independent studies in several locations, regulatory bodies will not approve or license rituximab for use in ME. READ MORE BY CLICKING HERE
The ME Associaton is supportive but cautious optimistic about Rituximab trials and you can read their detailed view by clicking here.