#ResearchSpeak: INSPIRE TRIAL RESULTS

We will continue to look for the black swan and some day we will find it. #ECTRIMS2016 #ResearchSpeak #MSBlog

"For those of you who missed ECTRIMS the following are our results of the Raltegravir (Isentress) Pilot Study in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (INSPIRE) (
NCT01767701), which we presented at ECTRIMS. The study was negative in that we did not show an impact of raltegravir on inflammatory disease activity in MS as measured by Gd-enhancing MRI. In the biomarker component of the study there was a weak association between EBV shedding and the total number of lesions, probably driven by new lesion development. This may indicate that EBV shedding is associated with inflammatory disease activity in MS. The weak correlations between HERV-W markers, EBV shedding and new MRI lesions were independent of any raltegravir treatment effects."

"Where to from here? We are still working on Charcot 2 that is primarily focusing on EBV activity and are taking forward an anti-EBV drug into MS. Will the peripheral suppression of EBV activity have any impact on MS disease activity? We think this hypothesis needs to be tested."


"We would like to thank all the MSers who participated in this study, without your selfless contribution this study would never have happened. Also a big thank you to the staff who made this study happen; for those of us in the know it was not an easy ride. And a massive thanks to our donors who initially primed the Charcot project, MSD for funding the INSPIRE study, and for all of you who continue to support the Charcot Project. Are we disappointed with the results? Everybody would like to see positive results, but that is not the way science works. Negative results are as important, if not more important, than positive ones. We will continue to walk where others fear to tread; we owe it to you the MS community. "




CoI: multiple

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