A CAMPAIGN to get the Government to fund a ‘wonder drug’ for Oxfordshire multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is now being taken to the highest power in Europe.

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)has been used for the treatment of MS for more than 25 years.

The drug, which is also believed to help with the effects of cancer, Aids and rheumatoid arthritis, works by creating a surge in endorphins to restore patients’ immune systems.

However, despite it costing just 50p-£1 per day, it is not routinely prescribed by GPs as it has not been officially licensed for use.

Campaigner and MS sufferer Silvia Lane has been using (LDN) to combat the effects of her condition for a year.

Last year, she became one of the driving forces in a campaign called LDN Now to get the Government to fund trials into the drug so all GPs could prescribe it with confidence.

More than 13,000 people signed a petition which was delivered to Number 10, but now Ms Lane plans to help take the fight to the European Parliament.

She said: “Finding this drug was amazing.

“January 9 was my official one year anniversary on the drug and I am doing great.

“The progression of my MS seems to have stopped, I am stronger and healthier than a year ago.

“But now we want all people with autoimmune diseases, not only MS but even some cancers, to be able to profit from this cheap, safe and effective little drug.

“The only way we will ever get there will be if governments fund trials and research.”

LDN is already licensed to treat alcohol or drug addicts, but many doctors are reluctant to prescribe it for other conditions because it has not been officially trialled and licensed for those uses, meaning they do not have proof of its effectiveness.

Clinical trials are often long and expensive and are usually funded by large drug companies, which are then given rights to make the drug.

But Ms Lane, who has to buy her prescription from Scotland, believes no pharmaceutical company will bear the expense of the large clinical trials, which could cost about £200m, because they would not make enough money from the sales.

She plans to take the fight for LDN to be made widely available all the way.

She said: “There’s 25 years of patients’ evidence to prove that this drug works, but unless people know about it, they can’t give it a go.

“We’re taking the fight to Europe to save the NHS vast sums of money and make countless people’s lives better by getting someone to do the right thing and properly trialling LDN.”

You can sign the petition by logging on to the website ipetitions.com/petition/ldnnow/