Trial to investigate if statins could become multiple sclerosis treatment

A UCL researcher is leading a phase 3 trial involving more than 1,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to investigate whether simvastatin could become a treatment for the condition. The trial will test simvastatin, a cheap cholesterol lowering drug, in people with the secondary progressive form of MS. There are currently no licensed treatments that can slow or stop disability progression in people with this type of MS. The research will be led by Dr Jeremy Chataway (UCL Institute of Neurology), who led the phase 2 trial into simvastatin that was published in The Lancet in 2014. It involved 140 people with secondary progressive MS. The research found those taking high doses of the drug had a significant reduction in the rate of brain atrophy (brain shrinkage) over two years and also had better disability scores at the end of study. Dr Chataway said: "This drug holds incredible promise for the thousands of people living with secondary progressive MS in the UK, and around the world, who currently have few options for treatments that have an effect on disability.