Author Topic: (Abst.) Does interferon-beta therapy affect survival of MS patients?  (Read 231 times)

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Offline agate

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Although the journal here isn't on the list of peer-reviewed journals, the results cited are unusual enough to deserve some attention.  It's not very often that there are studies of how long people are surviving on these ABCR drugs.

From PubMed, December 9, 2014:

Quote
Neurol Neurochir Pol. 2014 November - December;48(6):436-441.

Does interferon beta therapy affect survival of multiple sclerosis patients?

Kułakowska A1, Drozdowski W2.

Author information:
1Department of Neurology, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland. Electronic address: alakul@umb.edu.pl.
2Department of Neurology, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland.

Multiple sclerosis [MS] is a chronic inflammatory and degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Its etiology has not been fully elucidated. For approximately 20 years, drugs have been used, successfully modifying the natural course of relapsing-remitting MS. One of them is interferon beta.

Research outcomes of 16- and 21-year-retrospective follow-up of patients who participated in the pivotal interferon beta-1b trial were reported in 2010 and 2012, respectively. After 21 years, mortality rate among patients treated in the first 5 years with interferon beta-1b at a dose of 250μg was significantly lower, irrespective of the cause, as compared to the placebo-controlled group. Interferon beta-1b administered during the first 5 years of the study decreased the risk of death by 46.8% as compared to the placebo patients.

Moreover, the studies also confirmed safety of long-term interferon beta-1b therapy. However, not much is known about the effect of interferon beta-1a on patients' survival - the available data are presented in the article.


PMID: 25482255

The abstract can be seen here.
MS Speaks--online for 17 years

SPMS, diagnosed 1980. Avonex 2001-2004. Copaxone 2007-2010. Glatopa (glatiramer acetate 40mg 3 times/week) since 12/16/20.