Hold the sherry – booze may hinder MS treatment effectiveness

Drinking alcohol around the same time as taking multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) may limit the drug’s effectiveness according to a new study done on mice.

Mice were given alcohol ten minutes before their medication doses. Tests showed that the alcohol inhibits a liver enzyme that is needed to break down dimethyl fumarate, which is the main ingredient in Tecfidera, into its active state, monomethyl fumarate (MMF). When alcohol was added into the mix, no MMF was detected in the mice’s blood and brain.

“It is recommended based on this study that alcohol consumption be avoided in close temporal proximity to dosing with DMF to avoid this interaction,” the study’s researchers wrote, noting additional studies in humans are still needed.