A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, noncrossover trial determined the efficacy of LymphoBlastoid Interferon (IFN) in Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (CP MS).
Fifty patients received 5 X 10(6) IU IFN subcutaneously daily for 6 months while 50 received placebo. After 2 years, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups based on clinical evaluations and quantitative MRI analysis of the Brain, although a trend was observed in the IFN group.
Clinically, the IFN group was worse at 1 and 3 months and improved at 6 to 18 months, when compared with the placebo group. Results of MRI evaluations of the Brain at 6 months support this trend.
This trend likely resulted from a subpopulation of 10 IFN-treated patients, characterized by a higher women:men ratio and a lower EDSS score at entry into the trial. We cannot recommend LymphoBlastoid IFN as treatment for CP MS at this time.
