Prokarin

Prokarin (formerly known as Procarin) is a drug for multiple sclerosis. It combines a histamine with caffeine. It is an alternative medicine, not accepted by the mainstream medical community. [1]

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History

Elaine DeLack, a nurse, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988. She began researching multiple sclerosis in 1993 and experimented with a transdermal histamine-caffeine compound. She claims to have experienced instant relief and withdrawal of symptoms. However, Prokarin has never been clinically tested on a wide scale.

DeLack originally named the compound "Procarin". Pfizer, Inc. challenged the trademark stating that "Procarin" could be confused with their medication, Procardia. So the spelling was changed to "Prokarin".

In 2005, DeLack wrote and self-published the book, They Said It Didn't Make "Cents"-MS-The Prokarin Story, describing her struggle of trying to bring Prokarin into mainstream medicine.

Controversy over effectiveness

In 1998 DeLack founded the company EDMS, LLC to commercialize Prokarin. In 1999, EDMS pursued a feasibility study on 10 patients, "funded by Mastercard". The results of this study showed that 8 of the 10 patients saw improvements in their symptoms of MS while using the Prokarin.

In 2000, EDMS funded a double-blind study on 29 patients showing significant improvement in the group of patients receiving the Prokarin as compared to the placebo group. The primary outcome measure for the study was fatigue. The study was published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal 2002, Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp. 30-35.

The National MS Society (NMSS) published a response on 2002-01-30 disputing the conclusion of the EDMS study. The NMMS report questioned the design of the study, including the small sample size, the different numbers of people in the treatment and placebo groups, the potential confounding effects of caffeine, and others.

Side effects

There are potential side effects to using Prokarin, which have not been clinically studied. Half of people using Prokarin report a rash at the site of the patch. People with asthma have reacted adversely.