Multiple Sclerosis and 4ap

Several days ago I recieved a letter in the mail from Acorda Therapeutics. I did not recognize the company but I noticed it talked about multiple sclerosis so I knew it was for me.

I was doing a search on the web to find some research baking up increased dosages of 4ap (4 amino pyridine is the only drug that makes my multiple sclerosis easier to deal with) of 40 mg per day. Currently, 30 mg per day is widely used but if we could get a little more of this wonder drug, I know that I would feel amazing in terms of mobility. To my surprise, Acorda came up in this search.

As it turns out, they have been doing research on a new formulation of 4ap specifically for multiple sclerosis patients. This drug completed phase three testing in September and has been in the process for FDA approval since. Here is why this is good:

- Acorda found the multiple sclerosis patients walked 25% faster - which is amazing
- If the drug Fampridine-SR gains FDA approval, it will be accepted as a drug used for multiple sclerosis and therefore covered under our prescription drug plans (I pay full price for this drug because it does not have FDA approval so this is critical)

Yeah - one gain for the MS patients!