As 2017 draws to a close, we look back at a year where advances in pharmaceutical drug therapies brought new hope to people from across the globe. These steps forward bring with them a sense of suspense as we wait for more ground-breaking work to be accomplished in 2018.  Here is Drugdu.com’s list of medical advances that amazed.

1.  Radicava for ALS
As the first new treatment to be approved by the FDA in 22 years, Radicava is first on our list of drugs. ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that reduces the functionality of muscles in the body. There are still no cures for ALS but during Radicava’s phase 3 trial, 33% of the patients who received the drug reported a slowing down of functional deterioration, meaning a longer term of independence for ALS sufferers.

2. Experimental drug for Huntington’s disease
This fatal genetic disorder causes a degradation of nerve cells in the brain, affecting both physical and mental abilities. The new breakthrough is a drug called ASO-HTT-Rx and unlike other pharmaceutical drugs used to manage the symptoms, it must be injected directly into the spinal cord. It may not yet be commercially available but we are waiting with bated breath for more news on this.

3. Ocrevus and clemastine fumarate for MS
MS (multiple sclerosis) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system where a person’s immune system attacks myelin (the protective substance covering nerve cells).  Ocrevus is used to treat primary progressive MS as well as relapsing MS. Patients taking Ocrevus found that is decreased the progression of the disease more so when compared to Rebif, an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat MS. Although this is great news, there is currently no medication for the repair of myelin but, new research has shown that clemastine fumarate, an antihistamine, may be able to reverse and repair the damage caused even if the disease is well advanced.