Death reported after first dose of this MS drug

[Guest guest]

Death reported after first dose of this MS drug

Within 24 hours of taking the first dose of Gilenya (a newly approved drug used

to treat relapsing MS symptoms) a patient died.

Now, the investigation is still open, and we can't say that the drug definitely

caused the death, but evidence does point that way. And the FDA was shaken

enough to put out a warning right away, even though they aren't pulling the

drug, or even recommending that MS patients stop taking it.

The facts:

• Even the first dose of Gilenya is known to potentially cause very

serious side effects, including decreased heart rate (bradycardia). That usually

doesn't cause obvious symptoms, so you might not even know it's happening!

• Doctors are supposed to watch all patients taking this medicine for 6

full hours after the first dose to make sure they don't suffer bradycardia.

• The patient who died within 24 hours of taking the first dose of Gilenya

had been through the 6 hours of monitoring " without incident, " but died within

the next 18 hours.

• The danger is higher for patients also taking beta-blockers or calcium

channel blockers (which the dead patient was known to be taking)

On top of that, Gilenya's warning label also includes increased risk of

infection, which continues for up to two months after you stop taking Gilenya.

If you're considering trying this drug to treat MS symptoms, please reconsider:

even the first dose could be disastrous. --Michele