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Treatment withdrawal in relapsing−remitting multiple sclerosis: a retrospective cohort study
Author(s) -
Lus G.,
Signoriello E.,
Maniscalco G. T.,
Bonavita S.,
Signoriello S.,
Gallo C.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
european journal of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1468-1331
pISSN - 1351-5101
DOI - 10.1111/ene.12790
Subject(s) - medicine , multiple sclerosis , glatiramer acetate , confidence interval , retrospective cohort study , expanded disability status scale , relapsing remitting , cohort , cohort study , observational study , psychiatry
Background To investigate the effect of drug withdrawal on the course of relapsing−remitting multiple sclerosis ( RR ‐ MS ). Methods An observational cohort retrospective study was performed to compare the time to relapse of patients who discontinued disease‐modifying therapy (1a or 1b beta‐interferons or glatiramer acetate) with the patients who did not. One hundred and twenty‐eight RR ‐ MS patients were investigated using a time‐dependent approach. Results Over a median follow‐up of 108 months, 60 patients discontinued treatment and 89 relapses were observed. The time to relapse was shorter in patients who discontinued treatment compared with those who did not ( P < 0.001), median times being 31.1 months (95% confidence interval 10.4–50.8) and 85.8 months (95% confidence interval 58.6–106.3), respectively, whilst the baseline covariates (gender, Expanded Disability Status Scale at diagnosis) did not significantly affect the prognosis. Conclusions It was found that stopping treatment strongly reduces the time to relapse and this information may be useful in patient management.