Project description:BackgroundPhysicians commonly advise patients to begin disease modifying therapies (DMT's) shortly after the establishment of a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to prevent further relapses and disease progression. However, little is known about the meaning for patients going through the process of the diagnosis of MS and of making decisions on DMT's in early MS.ObjectiveTo explore the patient perspective on using DMT's for MS. Methods: Ten participants with a recent (< 2 years) relapsing-remitting MS diagnosis were interviewed. Seven of them were using DMT's at the time of the interview. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a hermeneutical-phenomenological approach.ResultsThe analysis revealed the following themes: (1) Constant confrontation with the disease, (2) Managing inevitable decline, (3) Hope of delaying the progression of the disease, and, (4) The importance of social support. The themes show that patients associate the recommendation to begin DMT's (especially injectable DMT's) with views about their bodies as well as their hopes about the future. Both considering and adhering to treatment are experienced by patients as not only matters of individual and rational deliberation, but also as activities that are lived within a web of relationships with relatives and friends.ConclusionFrom the patient perspective, the use of DMT's is not a purely rational and individual experience. More attention to the use of DMT's as relational and lived phenomena will improve the understanding of the process of decision-making for DMT's in MS.
Project description:In the past decade, the therapeutic arsenal for multiple sclerosis has expanded greatly. Newer more potent disease modifying therapies (DMTs) with varying mechanisms of actions are increasingly used early in the disease course. These newer DMTs include oral therapies (teriflunomide, dimethyl fumarate, fingolimod, siponimod, ozanimod, and cladribine) and infusion therapies (natalizumab, alemtuzumab, and ocrelizumab), and are associated with better control of disease activity and long-term outcomes in patients with MS compared to older injectable therapies (interferon beta and glatiramer acetate). However, they are associated with safety concerns and subsequent monitoring requirements. Adverse events are initially observed in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, and further long-term data are collected in phase 3 extension studies, case series, and post-marketing reports, which highlight the need to periodically re-evaluate and adjust monitoring strategies to optimize treatment safety in an individualized approach.
Project description:Purpose of reviewThe newer, higher-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS)-orals and monoclonals-have more profound immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive properties than the older, injectable therapies and require risk mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of serious infections. This review will provide a systematic framework for infectious risk mitigation strategies relevant to these therapies.Recent findingsWe classify risk mitigation strategies according to the following framework: (1) screening and patient selection, (2) vaccinations, (3) antibiotic prophylaxis, (4) laboratory and MRI monitoring, (5) adjusting dose and frequency of DMT, and (6) behavioral modifications to limit the risk of infection. We systematically apply this framework to the infections for which risk mitigations are available: hepatitis B, herpetic infections, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, and tuberculosis. We also discuss up-to-date recommendations regarding COVID-19 vaccinations for patients on DMTs. We offer a practical, comprehensive, DMT-specific framework of derisking strategies designed to minimize the risk of infections associated with the newer MS therapies.
Project description:ObjectiveThis study was undertaken to assess the impact of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies on the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS).MethodsWe retrospectively collected data of PwMS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. All the patients had complete follow-up to death or recovery. Severe COVID-19 was defined by a 3-level variable: mild disease not requiring hospitalization versus pneumonia or hospitalization versus intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death. We evaluated baseline characteristics and MS therapies associated with severe COVID-19 by multivariate and propensity score (PS)-weighted ordinal logistic models. Sensitivity analyses were run to confirm the results.ResultsOf 844 PwMS with suspected (n = 565) or confirmed (n = 279) COVID-19, 13 (1.54%) died; 11 of them were in a progressive MS phase, and 8 were without any therapy. Thirty-eight (4.5%) were admitted to an ICU; 99 (11.7%) had radiologically documented pneumonia; 96 (11.4%) were hospitalized. After adjusting for region, age, sex, progressive MS course, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration, body mass index, comorbidities, and recent methylprednisolone use, therapy with an anti-CD20 agent (ocrelizumab or rituximab) was significantly associated (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18-4.74, p = 0.015) with increased risk of severe COVID-19. Recent use (<1 month) of methylprednisolone was also associated with a worse outcome (OR = 5.24, 95% CI = 2.20-12.53, p = 0.001). Results were confirmed by the PS-weighted analysis and by all the sensitivity analyses.InterpretationThis study showed an acceptable level of safety of therapies with a broad array of mechanisms of action. However, some specific elements of risk emerged. These will need to be considered while the COVID-19 pandemic persists. ANN NEUROL 2021;89:780-789.
Project description:Disease-modifying therapies for relapsing multiple sclerosis reduce relapse rates by suppressing peripheral immune cells but have limited efficacy in progressive forms of the disease where cells in the central nervous system play a critical role. To our knowledge, alemtuzumab, fumarates (dimethyl, diroximel, and monomethyl), glatiramer acetates, interferons, mitoxantrone, natalizumab, ocrelizumab, ofatumumab, and teriflunomide are either limited to the periphery or insufficiently studied to confirm direct central nervous system effects in participants with multiple sclerosis. In contrast, cladribine and sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulators (fingolimod, ozanimod, ponesimod, and siponimod) are central nervous system-penetrant and could have beneficial direct central nervous system properties.
Project description:BackgroundDepression and use of antidepressants are more common among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to the general population, but the relation of psychiatric comorbidity to use of different disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is less clear.ObjectiveTo determine whether risk of incident depression or antidepressant use differed across DMTs, and to assess whether depression and antidepressants affected risk of DMT discontinuation and MS relapses.MethodsWe prospectively followed for 8 years a register-based nationwide cohort of 3803 relapsing-remitting MS patients.ResultsPatients on rituximab had a lower risk of being diagnosed with depression or initiating antidepressants compared with the reference group treated with interferons (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.54-0.96). Patients diagnosed with depression discontinued interferon treatment to a higher extent than patients without depression (HR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.15-1.98), as did patients on fingolimod initiating an antidepressant compared to patients who did not initiate an antidepressant (HR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.04-2.08).ConclusionsOur results indicate that the choice of DMT is associated with subsequent risk of depression in MS, but further studies are needed to establish whether there is a causal link. Overall, depression and use of antidepressants displayed limited associations with DMT discontinuation and MS relapse.
Project description:BackgroundThere is currently limited literature addressing the reporting of alopecia in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). Anecdotal reports of hair thinning from patients on various DMTs prompted further investigation of a large database.ObjectiveTo analyze total reports, source of reporting, age distribution, and sex distribution of alopecia associated with DMTs.MethodsFDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) public dashboard and OpenFDA database were analyzed for alopecia reports between January 1, 2009, and June 30, 2020, attributed to usage in MS of FDA approved DMTs. The main outcomes included total reports for each drug, age, sex distribution, and reporting source. OpenFDA data was used for statistical analyses including reporting odds ratios (ROR) and information components.Results8759 alopecia reports were identified among 44 114 adverse events in skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders (19.9%). 3701 (42.3%) with teriflunomide, 1675 (19.1%) with dimethyl fumarate, 985 (11.2%) with natalizumab, 926 (10.6%) with fingolimod, 659 (7.5%) with interferon beta-1a, 257 (2.9%) with glatiramer acetate, 243 (2.8%) with ocrelizumab, 124 (1.4%) with interferon beta-1b, 117 (1.3%) with alemtuzumab, 36 (.4%) with siponimod, 24 (.3%) with cladribine, and 12 (.1%) with rituximab. Reports were mostly made by patients (78.3%) and highest in fifth and sixth decades of life. OpenFDA analyses showed increased ROR (ROR 95% confidence interval) of alopecia in females with teriflunomide (18.00, 17.12-18.93), alemtuzumab (1.43, 1.16-1.76), dimethyl fumarate (1.26, 1.18-1.34), and ocrelizumab (1.28, 1.11-1.49). Increased ROR in males was associated with teriflunomide (24.65, 20.72-29.31).ConclusionWe identified many reports of alopecia for DMTs in addition to teriflunomide. Within the limitations of the database, increased RORs of alopecia were observed for females treated with alemtuzumab, dimethyl fumarate, and ocrelizumab. The source of reporting was largely driven by female patients. Possible alopecia, even if transient, should be considered during patient education when starting DMTs.
Project description:BackgroundThis study aimed to consider the main risk factors related to adverse clinical outcomes in MS patients with COVID-19.MethodsUsing the electronic health records systems, this is a cross-sectional study of two years of hospital admissions in terms of COVID-19 in Iran from March 2019 to August 2021. The severities of COVID-19 outcomes were admitted to ICU, hospitalization days, and in-hospital mortality.ResultsA total of 1634 hospitalized MS patients with a definite diagnosis of COVID-19 based on PCR were recorded in the electronic health systems. MS patients had a 7% increased risk for longer hospitalization, a 3% increased risk for the need to the ICU, and no increased risk of mortality compared with the general population. MS patients who were taking immunosuppressive (IS)-disease modifying therapies (DMT) had longer hospitalization (adjusted OR=2.06, 95%CI: 1.48, 2.86) and higher mortality risk (adjusted OR=2.05, 95%CI: 1.52, 6.29) compared to patients were under the immunomodulatory (IM)-DMT. There was not any significant association between the types of DMT and ICU (12.2% vs. 12.7%). Besides, MS patients who were vaccinated against COVID-19 before admission had shorter hospitalization (adjusted OR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.92).ConclusionsThe current data suggest that MS healthcare providers should consider specific risks of severe COVID-19 infection before starting IS-DMT.
Project description:Over the past two decades, the field of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been transformed by the rapidly expanding arsenal of new disease modifying therapies (DMTs). Current DMTs for MS aim to modulate innate and adaptive immune responses toward a less inflammatory phenotype. Since the immune system is also critical for identifying and eliminating malignant cells, immunosuppression from DMTs may predictably increase the risk of cancer development in MS patients. Compared with healthy controls, patients with autoimmune conditions, such as MS, may already have a higher risk of developing certain malignancies and this risk may further be magnified by DMT treatments. For those patients who develop both MS and cancer, these comorbid presentations create a challenge for clinicians on how to therapeutically address management of cancer in the context of MS autoimmunity. As there are currently no accepted guidelines for managing MS patients with prior history of or newly developed malignancy, we undertook this review to evaluate the molecular mechanisms of current DMTs and their potential for instigating and treating cancer in patients living with MS.
Project description:People with multiple sclerosis (MS) face challenges adhering to disease-modifying drug (DMD) treatment. Poor adherence to treatment reduces its clinical effectiveness which can adversely impact disease progression, MS-related hospitalisation, and mortality rates. Understanding the barriers to adherence is essential to addressing these issues in clinical practice and a consolidation of the literature had not yet been carried out. A systematic search was carried out using the electronic databases PsycINFO, and PubMed (Medline) using the search terms treatment compliance or treatment adherence and multiple sclerosis or MS. Studies included adults, with a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (sample > 80% RRMS), taking a DMD. The studies used an adequate measurement of treatment adherence and analysed possible factors associated with adherence. A total of 349 studies were retrieved, of which 24 were considered eligible for inclusion. Overall adherence rates of the included studies ranged from 52 to 92.8%. Narrative synthesis revealed the most prevalent factors associated with adherence were age, gender, depression, cognition, treatment satisfaction, injection-site reactions, and injection anxiety. There was contradictory evidence for disability in association with treatment adherence. The findings should be used to inform the development of targeted patient support programs which improve treatment compliance. The review also highlights the opportunities for advancing research into treatment adherence in MS.