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There's been a lot of interest in a story we've been reporting about the findings of a . Although the research is in its early stages, we thought it was of enough significance to report on its results so far. Here my colleague Branwen Jeffreys explains more about our reasons for covering this piece of medical research.

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By Branwen Jeffreys

"Last night and today the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is reporting the research on the experimental use of a drug for people in the early years of multiple sclerosis. It could be years before its value is confirmed - and it passes through the many checks and balances needed before a drug is licensed as an accepted treatment. So why report it now, and how do we decide which pieces of medical research make the grade?

It's a tough call, and one we face almost every day in the health team where our e-mail bulges daily with potential stories. Each piece of research runs a gauntlet of checks - is it published in a peer-reviewed journal? That means the publication uses expert panels to check the research methods before accepting results for publication.

This MS research was in the respected New England Journal of Medicine. and his team at the University of Cambridge had co-ordinated the trial in 49 centres in the US and Europe. MS is his specialist field and he has decades of clinical experience with patients.

But this was only a phase II trial - that means the results must be replicated in clinical research using many more patients. The next stage - a phase III trial would be essential before getting a licence to use the drug this way. There had also been some serious side effects, one patient died.

So what swung it for this research? It compared with the standard treatment in patients recently diagnosed. The difference was startling. The results showed reductions of more than 70% in accumulated disability and risk of relapse. Even allowing for a very healthy margin of error it looks like a sliver of hope for some MS patients albeit in the future. The next stage of research might temper the results, but is less likely to completely undermine them.

And that matters - MS affects millions around the world, there is no cure and it gradually causes disability. I huddled into a small studio with radio correspondent Adam Brimelow and Richard Warry, online editor, so we could all speak on the phone to golfer Tony Johnstone. His joy at being on the trial, and having MS held at bay enormously touched us all. We already knew the research was credible. When we put down the phone to Tony we knew it was also a cracking of how medical research has the potential to transform lives.

So with careful caveats about the experimental use of this drug only in patients newly diagnosed and the need for more research we put the story online and on air."