Hi everybody, this is about AMPYRA today. It's really exciting information, and I thought I would share with you everything that I have learned, and hopefully I can answer some questions, but of course you can always look on the internet, which is what I did. I went on the MS
Society's website, and you can talk to your doctor, but I'm going to tell you information that I found.
AMPYRA is formally known as dalfampridine, which I had heard originally,
and it's Acorda Therapeutics. It was approved by the US Food and Drug
Administration in January for its ability to improve walking in people with
any type of MS, and I thought, oh my gosh, that's exciting. And then as it
says it is now available by prescription, and this is the first therapy
specifically approved to treat a symptom of MS, and it represents a big
step forward for many people who may benefit. And I just recently said in
one of my videos that we have a lot to look forward to. Well, this is just
one thing. It's like, "Oh my gosh! It's a medication that can help a
symptom," it's really exciting, especially for walking. I think this is
really exciting. And I'm sure many of you know there are several
medications available to help with other things like, spasticity, fatigue,
or depression, but until now, there was no pharmacologic treatment for MS-
related difficulty with walking, so that's really exciting.
And I had a couple questions, and so they're basic questions, but I thought
I would tell you what my questions were, and I'll give you the answers that
I've found. And basically, I wanted to know what AMPYRA was, exactly. I
didn't know if it was an injection, or infusion, I didn't know what it was.
So AMPYRA is a tablet which may improve the conduction of nerve signals in
nerve fibers, whose insulating myelin coating has been damaged by MS. So
if you have read about the damage to myelin sheath, that's basically what
this does. It improves the conduction of the nerve fiber, so that's cool.
And then the next question I have, how is AMPYRA taken? And according to a
company press release, AMPYRA will be taken two times a day approximately
12 hours apart, so once in the morning and once at night.
Next question, can anyone with MS take AMPYRA? It says AMPYRA was... I'm
sorry, "AMPYRA was improved for persons with any type of multiple
sclerosis." I thought, "Oh my gosh, not just relapsing or remitting,
that's really exciting," and it says, however, "The FDA's approval of
AMPYRA comes with a warning that the drug should not be taken by
individuals with a history of seizures, or by those with moderate to severe
kidney impairment." And the reason why you shouldn't take it if you have
kidney impairment is because there is danger that the concentration of the
drug will increase in the blood beyond the amount considered to be safe.
Next question. Can a person take AMPYRA along with other MS medications?
According to the prescribing labels, yes.
Next question. When a person take AMPYRA on an as needed basis or every
day? The answer is, this drug was designed to be taken two times per day
about 12 hours apart, like I just said, so that amount of blood in the
bloodstream is fairly steady. For that reason, taking it on as need basis
would probably not be helpful.
Next question. What would happen if an individual stops taking AMPYRA?
Would walking issues get worse? And I read that question on the internet,
and I thought, "That's just like taking a drug holiday," and I recently
made a video about that. And here's the answer to this question. It says,
it appears that if a patient stops taking AMPYRA, the walking ability in
most individuals returns rapidly to how they were before they started
taking AMPYRA. Some people in clinical trials of AMPYRA experience a
worsening of their MS symptoms when they stopped taking the medication.
The FDA determined that the risk benefit ratio for AMPYRA is satisfactory.
And I read that, that's exactly why I don't want to take a drug holiday. I
figure I am doing so well now, that I fear that if I stopped taking my
medication that I would get worse, and my MS would change or get worse, so
that's why I have continued taking Tysabri, I've had my 30th infusion, I
feel amazing, and I don't want to make any changes, so the same goes for
AMPYRA.
And it says, oh, this is the last question, what are the potential side
effects of AMPYRA? In the first phase three study, common side effects
experienced were back pain, dizziness, insomnia, fatigue, nausea, and
bladder disorder. But I also made a video about side effects, so if you
haven't seen that video, you can watch that. Everything you take, whether
it's Tylenol or AMPYRA, have side effects, but it doesn't mean that if you
take it, you will get those side effects, everybody is different, and we
all know that. So those are just some reported side effects that some
people have had.
So I hope that this was helpful for anyone interested in knowing more about
AMPYRA, and of course, if you have more questions, you can talk to your
doctor. I hope you're doing well, getting ready or enjoying the spring
depending on where you live. It's really cold here in Michigan today, but
that's okay for me. I hope everybody is doing well, and I'll talk to you
soon. Bye.
