LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Avonex
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Interferon beta-1a (Avonex®) is for injection into a muscle. It may be given by a health-care professional in a hospital or clinic setting. Your health care professional may teach you how to give these injections at home. Make sure you understand how to give the injections and are comfortable with it before you give them yourself. Before preparing an injection always wash your hands well with soap and water. Do not shake the solution before measuring or injecting a dose.
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Avonex is a prescription drug that is used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. It is believed that the medication decreases nerve damage by preventing the immune system from attacking and destroying the protective coating around nerve fibers. Avonex, which comes in injection form, is injected into muscle once a week. While most people tolerate Avonex well, potential side effects include fever, chills, and headache.
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At the six-month mark, participants on Avonex had a lower rate of MS attacks and fewer people had relapses compared to Betaseron. However, at the end of the second six-month period this had reversed in favour of Betaseron: those on Betaseron had an exacerbation rate of 0.13 and 11% of people had relapses while those on Avonex had an exacerbation rate of 0.24 and 20% had relapses. Using the one-year treatment period as a whole, 7% of people on Betaseron had a sustained progression of disease as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale compared to 25% on Avonex.
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Side effects from Avonex include aching and fevers (flu-like symptoms). This begins about an hour after the injection and may last 24-36 hours. The flu-like symptoms usually improve with aspirin, Tylenol, or ibuprofen. Blood tests need to be checked on occasion to follow liver function and white blood cell levels. The medication must be refrigerated.
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The main goal of therapy with Avonex is to slow the natural progression of disability that occurs in relapsing MS. Earlier MS treatments centered on making symptoms less severe. More recently, doctors began using another form of interferon beta (Interferon beta-1b) to help reduce exacerbations (flare-ups of symptoms). Avonex, a new form of interferon beta, reduces exacerbations and is ... the only medication proven to slow the permanent disability caused by the disease.
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Avonex, or interferon beta -1a, is yet another disease-modifying drug for multiple sclerosis. Chemically, it is the same consistency as Rebif, but it is administered in smaller dosages less often. People taking Avonex administer the injection intramuscularly (into the muscle) once a week. This drug has been proven to reduce MS relapses and slow disease progression. Because it is a weaker formula, it is generally recommended for early cases or for those with milder progression. Avonex is available in pre-mixed syringes or in a powder form which requires mixing but no refrigeration.
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Avonex