“An Update on New MS Therapies” Dr. Garg

The MS Cure Fund was pleased to host an event featuring
Neeta Garg, M.D., a neurologist from the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, MA. This event was held at the Aegean Restaurant in Framingham, MA. Dr. Garg spoke about the newly introduced therapies in Multiple Sclerosis and their effects on the patients that take them. After the therapies were talked of at length, the focus turned to the mother and father of a newly diagnosed patient.

She focused primarily on the two newest oral therapies, Tecfidera and Aubagio. Through her discussion of both, she mentioned that the a component of Tecfidera(dimethyl fumarate) was licensed as an oral therapy for psoriasis in Germany before it was used for the treatment of MS. Clinical trials have shown that DMF (BG-12) reduces the relapse rate and hinders the progression of disability as it relates to MS. Aubagio, whose systematic name is teriflunomide, has the main function to inhibit the division of cells, including those thought to drive the progression of MS.

The most beneficial part of the evening came nearly at its end. A mother and father of a newly-diagnosed young woman attended to learn more about the journey that their daughter would soon embark upon. Not only did Dr. Garg provide them with advice, but the entire room roused with names of support groups and suggestions of the like. The portion of the MS community that was in that room came together to give that couple as much comfort and hope as any person could hope to have.