4 Ways Ocrevus Can Improve Your Life

It’s been less than a month since Ocrevus was approved by the FDA, and the buzz hasn’t died down. Though there is some trepidation, the MS community is incredibly excited about what the new “game-changing” medication can do for patients all across the country.

Here are just a few ways that Ocrevus can improve patients’ quality of life:

It’s only administered every six months. 
While many drugs are administered daily or weekly, Ocrevus is only administered twice a year after the initial dose (which is split in half and injected two weeks apart). Though the administration needs to be overseen by a health care team (meaning you have to go somewhere for treatment), at least patients will only have to worry about scheduling the doses every six months.

It can delay the progression of the disease. 
Clearly, this is the big one. The MS community is so excited about Ocrevus because it’s the first drug approved for PPMS, and preliminary results showed that it can slow the progression of the disease.

MORE: Five things to know about the new MS drug Ocrevus

It can limit relapses. 
In addition to slowing the progression of the disease, Ocrevus has also been shown to stop relapses (in the trial, it halted the disease in nearly half of RMS patients) and improve symptoms. Many patients in the clinical trial saw reduced pain levels and improved brain function (a.k.a. less brain fog).

It can improve your body’s ability to move.
As MS progresses, walking often becomes more difficult. One of the key markers in the Ocrevus clinical trials was the walk test. Patients taking Orevus reduced the time required to walk 25 feet by 29 percent. In addition to walking ability, researchers studied MS patients ability to move their bodies on Ocrevus, and those scores improved as well.

MORE: Ocrevus approval: a quick cheat sheet

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