Natalizumab

I was on Tysabri for 6 months after failing Remicade and Humira. I did have a response, but I was nervous about the risk (being a single mom) and was having a hard time stopping the steroids I was taking when I started Tysabri. The TOUCH program will not allow a patient to continue on steroids beyond 3 months (I think it was). So, I made the choice to discontinue Tysabri. Ironically, I am starting to re-consider and asked my GI's office yesterday if they would prescribe it. If my MTX doesn't kick in by the 6 month marker (1.5-2 months from now) I might just drop them all and try Tysabri again.

I always felt like the risk was carried later on in the therapy, not within the first few months (to see if I even responded to the drug). They are dropping the risk of PML from 1/1000 to something like 7/10,000 now. (I got that from a CCFA webcast on weighing the risk vs benefit of the medications. It's still posted on their site if you want to listen.)

Good luck with your decision...

I'm about to try Vedolizumab, which is similar to Natalizumab. No sign of PML in any of the hundreds of other trial patients.

I'm looking forward to it, as nothing else has worked for very long.