Hydroxyurea in Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
1969-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The pathogenesis of MS remain elusive, however some studies have linked the disease with
infection by Epstein-Barr virus; therefore the use of drugs with immunosuppressive or
immunomodulating action alone may be less suitable for primary progressive MS.This study will
evaluate treatment with hydroxyurea (HU) in primary progressive MS. Hydroxyurea act by
inhibiting the synthesis of deoxynucleotides essential for viral transcription,HU has
recently been used in combination with antiretroviral drugs in HIV and has been shown to
limit immune activation and suppress viral load by both antiviral and cytostatic activities.
Furthermore has been demonstrated experimentally that HU suppressed the expression of EBV.
For these reasons HU could be useful in primary progressive MS with cytostatic and antiviral
action , confirming the role of EBV in the pathogenesis of MS.