Background: The main objective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis is to prevent or postpone the long-term disability caused by the disease, which in most cases occurs over years. However, most randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and safety of disease-modifying drugs have been designed to measure the short-term efficacy of disease-modifying drugs (up to 2-4 years) in reducing relapse rate and disease activity at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Summary: In this chapter we will discuss how drug efficacy in reducing short-term relapse rate and MRI activity impact on delaying the accumulation of long-term disability, and we will summarize the available literature on the long-term efficacy of the drugs as assessed by the few long-term observational and long-term extension RCTs on available drugs, focusing on interferon-β treatment as the one with a more extensive literature. Key Messages: Additional long-term observational studies and long-term extension of follow-up periods for patients included in RCTs are needed to explore the long-term efficacy of available drugs which are known to be effective at the short-term level.
Assessing Functional Decline in Neurological Diseases Clinical Trials : Duration of Follow-Up - The Case of Multiple Sclerosis / F. Martinelli Boneschi, G. Comi - In: The Right Therapy for Neurological Disorders : From Randomized Trials to Clinical Practice / [a cura di] E. Beghi, G. Logroscino. - Basel : Karger, 2016. - ISBN 9783318058642. - pp. 93-100
Assessing Functional Decline in Neurological Diseases Clinical Trials : Duration of Follow-Up - The Case of Multiple Sclerosis
F. Martinelli BoneschiPrimo
;
2016
Abstract
Background: The main objective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis is to prevent or postpone the long-term disability caused by the disease, which in most cases occurs over years. However, most randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy and safety of disease-modifying drugs have been designed to measure the short-term efficacy of disease-modifying drugs (up to 2-4 years) in reducing relapse rate and disease activity at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Summary: In this chapter we will discuss how drug efficacy in reducing short-term relapse rate and MRI activity impact on delaying the accumulation of long-term disability, and we will summarize the available literature on the long-term efficacy of the drugs as assessed by the few long-term observational and long-term extension RCTs on available drugs, focusing on interferon-β treatment as the one with a more extensive literature. Key Messages: Additional long-term observational studies and long-term extension of follow-up periods for patients included in RCTs are needed to explore the long-term efficacy of available drugs which are known to be effective at the short-term level.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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