Widely-prescribed statin not effective treatment for certain type of MS, study claims

A widely-prescribed statin does not slow disability progression for people with a certain form of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new trial has concluded.

Researchers wanted to assess whether simvastatin – which is used to treat high cholesterol and prevent heart disease – could help people with secondary progressive MS.

One of the people who took part in the study said she was “massively disappointed” with the results of the trial. But the MS Society said that the trial was still a “huge milestone” in MS research.

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The seven-year MS-STAT study, which involved almost 1,000 patients over 31 sites across the UK, concluded that simvastatin is not an effective neuro-protective treatment for secondary progressive MS.

But researchers told delegates at the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis conference in Copenhagen that the trial results would increase understanding of the biology of progressive MS.

“I’m massively disappointed that the trial didn’t produce a new treatment,” said secondary progressive MS patient Jacqueline Krarup.

Ms Krarup, who was one of the first to join the trial, said: “Just being on the trial was such a positive experience for me. When you have secondary progressive MS you can feel forgotten, so having regular appointments and time with MS specialists was invaluable.”

Professor Jeremy Chataway, chief investigator of the trial of University College London, said: “We know people with MS and everyone involved in the study will be disappointed a new treatment hasn’t been found. But these results are still incredibly valuable.

“MS-STAT2 is crucial for future MS research and we’ve proven we can run large-scale, nationwide trials for progressive MS.

“We’re now focusing our efforts on our multi-arm, multi-stage trial Octopus, which is trialling emerging medications that have been utterly transformative in other conditions.”

Dr Emma Gray, assistant director of research at the MS Society, added: “We’re so proud to have funded MS-STAT2. And while it isn’t the result we desperately wanted, it’s shown us that we can deliver world-class and well-designed trials that match the scale and quality of big pharma companies.

“We’re on the cusp of a revolution in how MS is treated. Thirty years ago, there were no treatments for MS. Now there are more than a dozen that can help reduce MS attacks.

“But these don’t work for everyone and they’re not enough to stop MS. We will continue to invest in high-quality clinical trials, like Octopus, which is testing promising drugs for progressive MS.”

MS affects more than 150,000 people in the UK.

The majority of people who are diagnosed with the condition are told they have relapsing MS and around half of those patients will develop secondary progressive MS within 15 to 20 years.