Barbara,

Not that I'm an expert on this or have specific references for you, but I
have a few comments about Avonex and maybe a source of potential information
for you. My husband was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and we
spent a good part of the last month or so researching the three drugs
commonly prescribed for MS. Avonex is one of the two interferon drugs
(Betaseron is the other and older by a few years.) Interferon is a huge
protein molecule, and because proteins are broken down by the digestive
system, the only way this drug is administered is by a weekly intramuscular
injection. (Betaseron is an every-other-day subcutaneous injection.) Common
sense tells us that IF this stuff comes through the breast milk (highly
unlikely due to its size), it would be broken down by the baby's digestive
system. That's not clinical proof, just educated conjecture.

It's thought that Avonex (and Betaseron) works by boosting the body's immune
system. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own nerve
cells, specifically the myelin sheaths around these cells.

A good friend of mine is an Avonex counselor (and former LLL Leader) with
MS. According to her (and I have not seen the studies to back this), women
who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding tend to have significantly fewer
exacerbations of the MS, most likely because of the hormones. According to
what she's read, typically a pregnant woman will have no exacerbations
during the pregnancy but have a pretty major one after birth.

A good source of information on this drug would be the National MS Society
web pages (http://nmss.org). There are links and summaries of a lot of
research studies on the major drugs. Avonex also has its own website
http://www.avonex.com. Chances are, you could find the studies that my
friend was referring to.

The one thing that we heard again and again in researching this disease is
that it is important to start medication as soon as possible to prevent as
many exacerbations as possible.

Again, I'm relaying information second hand in the hopes that you can track
down the specific research that actually confirms the above. Given that my
husband is not likely to be either pregnant or nursing ;-), we didn't spend
much time seeking this kind of information!

Hope this helps a little.

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC

> Date:    Tue, 12 Mar 2002 19:56:57 EST
> From:    Barbara Latterner <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: avonex
>
> A childbirth educator friend asked me for info on the drug, Avonex, which
is
> being used by a client of hers for multiple sclerosis.  It is apparently
an
> experimental drug.  I looked in Hale (haven't gotten his 2002, yet) and
his
> clinical therapy book with no info.  Does anyone know about this drug, is
> there a safe alternative and what exactly is it's effect?
>
> Thanks!
> Barbara Latterner, BSN, RN, IBCLC
> Brewster, NY
>

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