Existing anti-relapse drugs have proved only temporarily effective, and steroids are used to relieve inflammations and pain, but cannot stop the degenerative effects of the disease. All the patients in the Liverpool trial showed clear signs their disease was likely to progress quickly producing early and severe disability. Most rapidly showed signs that their attacks were happening around 90% less often. Only two patients had relapses while in Copaxone therapy for up to 40 months after they stopped taking the mitoxantrone. But there are risks with the new treatment, as mitoxantrone is highly toxic and cannot be used for long periods of time. One patient developed therapy-related acute leukaemia nine months after comple treatment - which is a known side effect of mitoxantrone in about one in 300 patients. The patient is now in remission from the leukaemia, diagnosed 12 months ago, and his MS is stable and relapse-free. One patient dropped out of the study because of allergic reactions where they had their injections, but still remained relapse-free without further treatment for 26 months. A spokesman for the MS Society said yesterday the new regime could herald a "fantastic breakthrough" that could change the lives of MS sufferers. Dr Boggild said: "We have been using this treatment for quite some time now at Walton, but we don't have funding and no-one takes much notice of uncontrolled trials. "We are telling people about it now because we need to recruit volunteers to help us conduct a full scale clinical trial." The research is due to be published in the August edition of the Journal of Neurology. deborahjames@dailypost.co.uk Volunteers needed to take part in study DOCTORS are now looking for volunteers to take part in the wider study. The centres taking part in the new trial are: The Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Liverpool Hope Hospital, Manchester St James's University Hospital, Leeds The Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospital, Nottingham The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford Southern General Hospital, Glasgow The Royal Free, London Charing Cross Hospital, London University Hospital of North Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent Anyone who is interested can get more information by visiting: www.mxga-mstrial.co.uk | 
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