Is it that the dosages must be higher to treat MS?
[1] https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-17979/targretin-oral/deta...
“Bexarotene is used to treat skin problems from a certain type of cancer (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma-CTCL).”
Bexarotene is an already-approved cancer drug. Cancer drugs often have worse side effects than normal drugs because they’re taken toward end of life, or taken to delay or prevent death. The difference is that MS patients would presumably need to take this medication over the course of their lifetime, as it doesn’t address the core disease.
If Bexarotene accelerates heart disease and causes thyroid problems, a lifetime of taking this medication might actually worsen quality of life and even shorten lifespan. Unfortunately, many patients desperate to improve the symptoms they know might rush to replace them with side effects they don’t yet know.