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CAUTION!!  Anyone who is taking Avonex and develops unusual stools should see a GI specialist IMMEDIATELY!  Two weeks after beginning Avonex therapy my son developed loose stools & acne.  His neuro insisted that they had nothing to do with the Avonex and told him to take his 3rd injection.  The following week the stools became worse with blood being passed.  He again contacted the neuro and again was told that neither the acne nor the bloody diarrhea were associated with the Avonex and it was imperative that he continue his weekly injections.  He took his fourth injection.  The next week the stools turned to more blood than stool and he rapidly lost strength.  He stopped all further injections and a week after stopping the injections, the acne began clearing.  However, the GI tract was on a downward spiral.  A week and a half after the last injection he was diagnosed with severe Ulcerative Colitis and began medication for that, including hospitalization and IV steroids.  However the success with that treatment was limited and a second colonoscopy 3 weeks after the first showed aggressive deterioation of the colon and deep ulcers.  The next day the bowel perforated in three places.  When the surgeon removed the colon he said it was the consistency of wet tissue paper and it dissentigrated in his hands.  Both the surgeon and the GI doctor said they had seldom seen such aggressive UC or Crohn's.  They are in disagreement as to which it was.  The bottom line is that my son who was relatively healthy, who had only one CIS, who had never had any GI problems of any kind, lost his colon less than 8 weeks after beginning Avonex injections.  Please tell anyone you know who is taking Avonex to see a GI doctor immediately if they began having any unusual stools.