BACKGROUND Interferon beta is used to modify the course of relapsing multiple sclerosis. Despite interferon beta therapy, many patients have relapses. Natalizumab, an alpha4 integrin antagonist, appeared to be safe and effective alone and when added to interferon beta-1a in preliminary studies. METHODS We randomly assigned 1171 patients who, despite interferon beta-1a therapy, had had at leas...

BACKGROUND Several questions arise concerning the use of the anti-CD25 antibody daclizumab to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVES To answer the following 3 questions related to the efficacy of daclizumab therapy in patients with MS: Is the therapeutic effect of daclizumab dependent on combination with interferon beta? Is a higher dosage of daclizumab more efficacious in patients with pe...

UNLABELLED Since 1993 the Federal Drug Administration approved the use of immunomodulatory therapy in multiple sclerosis (MS), modifying the natural course of disease, as demonstrate our experience in treatment of MS patients at the MS Treatment Center (CATEM). OBJECTIVE To evaluate patient behavior using immunomodulatory therapy for a period of five years treatment. METHOD We selected 390 ...

OBJECTIVE To identify promising candidate genes linked to interindividual differences in the efficacy of interferon beta therapy. Recombinant interferon beta therapy is widely used to reduce disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, up to 50% of patients continue to have relapses and worsening disability despite therapy. DESIGN We used a genome-wide pharmacogenomic approach to ide...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system which is accompanied by considerable disability and high costs. This report summarises the evidence on effectiveness and costs of beta-interferons and natalizumab in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.The review included systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials (with an observation time of at lea...

BACKGROUND Interferon inhibitory activity (IIA) is a logical candidate for explaining neutralizing antibody-negative partial responsiveness to interferon beta in multiple sclerosis (MS), but its role has not been evaluated. OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of IIA and soluble interferon-alpha/beta receptor (sIFNR) in determining response of patients with MS to interferon beta therapy. DESIG...

OBJECTIVES To confirm that neutralizing antibodies (NAb) to interferon beta can persist after therapy withdrawal and to evaluate whether persisting NAb are associated with a worse clinical disease course in multiple sclerosis (MS). DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Tertiary referral center in The Netherlands. PATIENTS A total of 71 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis tr...

multiple sclerosis (ms) is an inflammatory, multifocal, immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system that women are at a higher risk to acquire than men. myxovirus resistance protein a (mxa) is used as a predictive marker of bioactivity of interferon-beta (ifn-β) therapy in ms patients. this study was undertaken in west of iran to investigate gender differences in the expression level ...