Long-term follow-up of immunomodulatory treatment in Hungarian patients suffering from multiple sclerosis

Written by Csépány Tünde, Mezei Zsolt, Csiba László

The interferon beta 1b (Betaferon) and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone) since 1996, intramuscularly administered interferon beta 1a (Avonex) since 1999 and subcutaneously administered interferon beta 1a (Rebif) since 2001 are available for treating RRMS patients in Hungary. 79 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients -age 35.4±10.6 years (mean±SD), duration of the disease 3.8±5.7 years - were treated with immunomodulatory drugs since 1996 and followed for 54±35 months (min: 24 months, max: 112 months) at the Department of Neurology of the University of Debrecen. The EDSS increased from 2.8±1.4 to 3.4±3.5 during the follow-up. The relapse rate was 2.4±0.7 in 2 years prior to treatment and 0.7±0 in a period of 2 years treatment. Each treatment reduced the activity of the disorder. Slowing the progression of the disorder, the safety of immunomodulatory drugs and the possible relation of immunological laboratory changes to these drugs are discussed in the paper (Betaferon n=20, Copaxone n=25, Avonex n=27, Rebif n=7).


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