Help for MS sufferers

DRUGS used to treat HIV could be used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS).

Researchers say that people with HIV are 62 per cent less likely to develop MS and say the drugs used to treat HIV could be behind the lowered risk.

MS is caused by the body’s own defences attacking the fatty insulation surrounding nerve fibres and can lead to progressive loss of physical skills.

The claims come from researchers at Queen Mary University of London, the University of Oxford and the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, which examined more than 21,000 HIV-positive patients.