CMSC

Low rates of immunogenicity observed in study support the potential benefits of subcutaneous peginterferon beta-1a in the treatment of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

The reductions in brain volume often seen in patients with chronic relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis may be reduced by treatment with interferon beta-1a, though treatment may be affected by the patient's immunologic status.

Analysis of NARCOMS data showed that switching from natalizumab to fingolimod or injectable therapy was associated with an increased likelihood of reported disability progression.

Primary MS is characterized by neurodegeneration with neuroaxonal injury and diffuse inflammation; disease progression is linked with age. Effective management calls for symptom-specific medical management combined with wellness and health maintenance measures.

Although there are more treatment options than ever before available to patients and clinicians, new approaches are needed to treat acute exacerbations, as well as new options that can help meet the long-term goals of symptomatic management and rehabilitation.

Coping strategies based on enhanced mindfulness and a greater sense of agency can help patients improve their quality of life.

Medication selection should be driven by rational polypharmacy and take into account such factors as pain type, underlying symptoms, comorbidities, patient preference, and medication side effects.

Some studies have shown benefit in reducing pain and spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis, but the data is mixed and can be highly subjective.

To prepare for coming changes at the CMS driven by the Affordable care Act, multiple sclerosis care centers should begin to develop MS-specific electronic health record templates that record clinical outcome measures.

With so many different interdependent symptoms affecting MS pathogenesis, effective treatment requires intervention by a multidisciplinary team, with progress assessed by validated instruments that measure variables such as physical health, psychological health, and social relationships.

Experimental data suggest that memory-retraining exercises and other cognitive rehabilitation techniques may improve memory acquisition and retention in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Pain is a common symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), with some studies showing that clinically significant pain associated with their disease is experienced by more than half of patients with MS.

Comprehensive care for patients with MS starts with medical treatment of the symptoms of their disease, but must also include intervention by clinicians who can address the mental, physical, and social challenges experienced by many patients.

Early diagnosis is one of the most important characteristics of effective MS treatment, since the greatest irreversible disabilities tend to occur early in the course of MS disease progression.

Physicians must consider a range of factors when initiating treatment with disease-modifying drug therapy and be prepared to switch to another first- or second-line option if the patient fails to respond.

Monoclonal antibodies, chimeric molecules, and other immunomodulating drugs and novel approaches hold real promise for effectively treating multiple sclerosis.

Treating patients with multiple sclerosis who opt to use only supplements and other complementary and alternative approaches requires a great deal of tact and education, and input and support from all members of the multidisciplinary treatment team.

News and updates about the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.

The oral disease-modifying drug under development for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, teriflunomide, was not superior to interferon beta-1a in risk of treatment failure.

In the course of a 24-week cessation of treatment with the humanized monoclonal antibody, natalizumab, in patients with RRMS, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and serum immune parameters normalized by 4 months.

People discharged from the hospital with MS are 30% less likely to have had a myocardial infarction and 58% less likely to have ischemic heart disease.

Treatment with the investigational oral treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, dimethyl fumarate (aka BG-12), yielded significant reductions in the annualized relapse rate and risk of relapse.

After a 24-week cessation of natalizumab treatment, a high rate of MRI and clinical disease activity recurs in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The monoclonal antibody, alemtuzumab, significantly reducesthe number of relapses and the accumulation of disability in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who had relapsed on prior therapy.

The once-daily oral MS drug, fingolimod, slows brain volume loss in patients with MS, regardless of inflammatory activity.

The once-daily oral MS drug, fingolimod, reduces annualized relapse rates in patients who achieved unsatisfactory responses when treated with other disease-modifying therapies or who had been treated for an extended period of time.

Treatment with the investigational oral drug for RRMS, dimethylfumarate (aka BG-12), yielded significant reductions in inflammatory disease activity using MRI outcomes.

Cholestyramine and activated charcoal can be used to virtually eliminate the long half-life oral investigational multiple sclerosis drug, teriflunomide, from the plasma in 11 days.

People with MS frequently reported having both episodic and chronic migraines, with Hispanic MS patients experiencing significantly more chronic migraines.

In clinical trials, treatment of patients with the oral disease-modifying therapy, teriflunomide, for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis can result in hair loss/thinning, but this side effect is generally manageable.