Sufficient quantity for effective treatment |
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Benefits from interferon beta-1b in multiple sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, severely disabling disease of the central nervous system, whereby the normal conduction of nerve impulses is impeded because of inflammation and destruction of the myelin sheats that protect nerve fibers. The underlying cause of the disease is still unknown, and until the advent of genetic engineering no treatment was available. In the early 1990s the company Schering pioneered a safe production process using the bacterium Escherichia coli K 12 expressing the gene coding for human interferon beta-1b. Since 1993, thousands of patients suffering from MS have been treated with this beta-interferon. The treatment results in fewer and less severe attacks and a delay in the progression of the disease.