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The CombiRx trial of combined therapy with interferon and glatiramer cetate in relapsing remitting MS: Design and baseline characteristics.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Interferon-?1a (IFNB) and glatiramer acetate (GA) are distinct therapies which are both partially effective for relapsing MS. It is not known if combining the two treatments would be more effective. OBJECTIVE: To review the rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of the CombiRx study of combined treatment with IFNB and GA. METHODS: The key inclusion criteria included a diagnosis of relapsing MS, at least 2 episodes of MS activity in the previous 3 years, expanded disability status scale of 0 to 5.5, and no prior treatment with either IFNB or GA. Subjects were randomized to IFNB+GA, IFNB monotherapy, or GA monotherapy in a 2:1:1 ratio. RESULTS: From 2005 to 2009, we enrolled 1008 subjects. The participants were 72.4% female and 87.6% Caucasian with a mean age of 37.7 years. The median duration of symptoms was 2 years at entry into the study, and the mean EDSS was 2.1. On the baseline MRI, the mean total lesion load was 12.2 ml, and 40% of the participants had enhancing lesions. CONCLUSION: We have recruited a population of patients with clinical and MRI characteristics typical for early MS. The study results will aid in deciding on the optimum early treatment. This trial should serve as a model for future studies of combination therapy.

SUBMITTER: Lindsey J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3384544 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The CombiRx trial of combined therapy with interferon and glatiramer cetate in relapsing remitting MS: Design and baseline characteristics.

Lindsey Jw J Scott Tf T Lynch Sg S Cofield Ss S Nelson F F Conwit R R Gustafson T T Cutter Gr G Wolinsky Js J Lublin Fd F

Multiple sclerosis and related disorders 20120223 2

BACKGROUND: Interferon-β1a (IFNB) and glatiramer acetate (GA) are distinct therapies which are both partially effective for relapsing MS. It is not known if combining the two treatments would be more effective. OBJECTIVE: To review the rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of the CombiRx study of combined treatment with IFNB and GA. METHODS: The key inclusion criteria included a diagnosis of relapsing MS, at least 2 episodes of MS activity in the previous 3 years, expanded disability ...[more]

PMID: 22754793

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Project description:One of our new major finding among the genes that contributes to MS susceptibility is ICSBP1. The so called disease modifying therapies like interferon-beta (IFN-Î²), possibly acting on the peripheral T-cells, reduce the disease activity and the clinical progression, with a MRI-detectable effect in preventing lesion burden and cerebral atrophy development in RR-MS. It suggests a critical role of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) immune response and modulation in developing inflammation in the brain. We tested the hypothesis that the genetic effect of the susceptible allele ICSBP1 can impact the gene expression profile of molecules belonging to the interferon pathway. We therefore interrogated the PBMC for changes in gene expression profile. We correlate those changes with the minor allele frequency for ICSBP1, performing independent quantitative trait analysis for each treatment category. Expression Quantitative Trait Loci Association with a p value < 0.05 have been used in follow up analysis. The regression coefficient of the Quantitative trait association represents the degree of correlation between the gene expression for each interrogated target gene and the minor allele frequency of the SNP for our gene of interest. This coefficient has been used as input in the subsequent Gene Set Enrichment Analysis performed in a pre-ranked approach. The resulting GSEA-SNP method rests on the assumption that SNPs underlying a disease phenotype might affect genes constituting a signaling pathway or genes with a common regulation. Therefore, GSEA-SNP can facilitate the identification of pathways or of underlying biological mechanisms. We used microarrays to capture gene expression profile of untreated subjects and of subjects under disease modyfing treatment (Interferon Beta and Glatiramer Acetate), in order to correlate gene expression and genotype data and in order to identify sets of genes specifically regulated in the different treatment categories. Experiment Overall Design: Between July 2002 and October 2007, PBMC samples were collected from relapsing-remitting MS subjects and CIS subjects as part of the Comprehensive Longitudinal Investigation of MS at the Brigham & Womenâs Hospital (CLIMB study). We then selected the first time point for each subject with multiple measurements based on an at least three months of treatment criteria. We thereafter analyzed the data for each treament category.

Project description:One of our new major finding among the genes that contributes to MS susceptibility is ICSBP1. The so called disease modifying therapies like interferon-beta (IFN-β), possibly acting on the peripheral T-cells, reduce the disease activity and the clinical progression, with a MRI-detectable effect in preventing lesion burden and cerebral atrophy development in RR-MS. It suggests a critical role of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) immune response and modulation in developing inflammation in the brain. We tested the hypothesis that the genetic effect of the susceptible allele ICSBP1 can impact the gene expression profile of molecules belonging to the interferon pathway. We therefore interrogated the PBMC for changes in gene expression profile. We correlate those changes with the minor allele frequency for ICSBP1, performing independent quantitative trait analysis for each treatment category. Expression Quantitative Trait Loci Association with a p value < 0.05 have been used in follow up analysis. The regression coefficient of the Quantitative trait association represents the degree of correlation between the gene expression for each interrogated target gene and the minor allele frequency of the SNP for our gene of interest. This coefficient has been used as input in the subsequent Gene Set Enrichment Analysis performed in a pre-ranked approach. The resulting GSEA-SNP method rests on the assumption that SNPs underlying a disease phenotype might affect genes constituting a signaling pathway or genes with a common regulation. Therefore, GSEA-SNP can facilitate the identification of pathways or of underlying biological mechanisms. We used microarrays to capture gene expression profile of untreated subjects and of subjects under disease modyfing treatment (Interferon Beta and Glatiramer Acetate), in order to correlate gene expression and genotype data and in order to identify sets of genes specifically regulated in the different treatment categories.

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Dataset Information

The CombiRx trial of combined therapy with interferon and glatiramer cetate in relapsing remitting MS: Design and baseline characteristics.

Publications

The CombiRx trial of combined therapy with interferon and glatiramer cetate in relapsing remitting MS: Design and baseline characteristics.

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