RESEARCH - MS drug fampridine may improve walking

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Experimental MS Drug May Aid Walking

Fampridine May Improve Walking Speed in Some People With Multiple Sclerosis

By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Feb. 26, 2009

An experimental drug called fampridine may improve walking in some

people with multiple sclerosis.

Researchers report that news in the Feb. 28 edition of The Lancet.

They studied 301 U.S. and Canadian adults with multiple sclerosis

(MS). At the study's start, the patients were timed as they walked a

distance of 25 feet.

After that, the patients spent a week just taking a placebo pill, and

then they took either fampridine or a placebo twice daily for 14

weeks. After that, they spent their last month in the study not taking

fampridine or the placebo.

During the study, patients taking fampridine were more likely than

those taking the placebo to meet the study's benchmark for the timed

walk, to improve their walking speed, and to note greater improvement

in walking.

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http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/news/20090226/experimental-ms-drug-may-a\

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