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The Maryland Center for Multiple Sclerosis

Maryland Center for Multiple Sclerosis: Clinical Trials Open for Enrollment

Patient is helped by a staff

Opportunities are available for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis to participate in several new clinical trials at the University of Maryland Center for Multiple Sclerosis. These studies are either currently enrolling or will be enrolling shortly. The studies vary in design, duration, criteria for eligibility, number of MRI scans, and other details. The following is a very brief summary of each study. You may obtain further information by calling Kerry Naunton, R.N., 410-328-1885 or Elizabeth Wheeler, R.N., 410-328-7602 at the MS Center.

  1. The EPOC trial is a study sponsored by Novartis to test safety and tolerability of an oral medication named Gilenya versus the normal standard of care (glatiramer acetate, beta-interferon 1a, and beta-interferon 1b). Gilenya is a once daily medication recently approved by the FDA that acts on certain types of white blood cells called lymphocytes. It makes there cells move away from sites of inflammation and redirects them towards lymph nodes and other places in the body where they rest. The study is 6 months long. Seventy-Five percent of subjects will be selected to be on Gilenya and 25% will be on the standard of care medicines.

    Investigator: Horea Rus, M.D.
    Eligibility: This trial is designed for people 18-65 years of age who have relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and who have had at least 1 relapse in the past year. Subjects who are interested must currently be on a continuous regimen of injectable medication for the previous 6 months.

  2. The ITN trial is a trial using an investigational medication named Abatacept. Abatacept is a medication that interacts with your immune system and makes the cells less active. Slowing the action of these cells appears to lower your immune system’s ability to attack healthy tissues in your brain. A total of 123 participants will be randomly assigned to either abatacept or placebo. This is a 24 week trial with an extension period of 24 weeks where the participants will switch to the other arm of treatment that they did not have in the original 24 weeks.

    Investigator: Walter Royal, M.D.
    Eligibility: This trial is designed for people 18-65 years of age who have relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and who have had at least 1 relapse in the past year. Subjects who are interested must not have injectable medications to treat their MS for the 4 weeks prior to the trial.

  3. This new Ampyra (4-AP) trial is for patients with multiple sclerosis who are experiencing problems with ambulation. 4-AP is a potassium channel blocker that acts on the demyelinated areas and blocks the outflow of potassium ions. The trial is to study the FDA approved dose of Ampyra versus a lower dose. It is a 4 week trial. The patients must be able to ambulate. They are allowed to be on current injectable therapies for the treatment of their MS.

    Principal Investigator: Christopher Bever, M.D.
    Eligibility: 18-70 years of age, be able to complete a timed 25-foot walk, and no history of seizures

Currently recruiting clinical trial opportunities are constantly changing. Please keep in touch if you are interested in trials!


This page was last updated on: August 24, 2011.

For more information about the Maryland Center for Multiple Sclerosis,
please call 410-328-5605.