Newly approved agents for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis: how real-world evidence compares with randomized clinical trials?

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-34
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Comi ◽  
Gloria Dalla Costa ◽  
Lucia Moiola
2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Scott ◽  
Ping Wang ◽  
Xiaojun You ◽  
Monica Mann ◽  
Bjørn Sperling

Background: The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), based on different functional system scores (FSS), remains the most frequently used disability assessment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In this analysis, we evaluated the relationship between sustained disability progression, measured by EDSS, and simultaneous changes in individual FSS domains. Methods: A post hoc analysis was performed on data from placebo-treated RRMS patients from four large, randomized, multicenter, phase 3 clinical trials. Sustained disability progression was defined as a ≥1.0-point EDSS score increase over a ≥3- or ≥6-month period. Simultaneous sustained disability progression and worsening of individual FSS domains was analyzed. Results: The majority of patients experienced sustained disability progression and simultaneous worsening of ≥1 FSS domain, with ≥1-point worsening in the pyramidal domain being most frequently associated with sustained disability progression (in 31-51% of patients), followed by ≥1-point worsening in the cerebellar (35-41% of patients) and sensory (31-45% of patients) domains. Conclusion: The key FSS components correlating with sustained disability progression, measured by EDSS, appear to be pyramidal, cerebellar, and sensory. In this analysis, the simultaneous worsening of consistent FSS domains confirms the validity and reliability of the use of sustained EDSS progression as a measure of disability progression.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 343-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tjalf Ziemssen ◽  
Katja Thomas

Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), given as two annual courses on five consecutive days at baseline and on three consecutive days 12 months later. Here we provide an update on the long-term efficacy and safety of alemtuzumab in RRMS, including real-world experience, and advances in our understanding of its mechanism of action. Recent data from the phase II/III extension study have demonstrated that alemtuzumab reduces relapse rates, disability worsening, and the rate of brain volume loss over the long term, with many patients achieving no evidence of disease activity. In high proportions of patients, preexisting disability remained stable or improved. Alemtuzumab is associated with a consistent safety profile over the long term, with no new safety signals emerging and the overall annual incidence of reported adverse events decreasing after the first year on treatment. Acyclovir prophylaxis reduces herpetic infections, and monitoring has been shown to mitigate the risk of autoimmune adverse events, allowing early detection and overall effective management. Data from clinical practice and ongoing observational studies are providing additional information on the real-world use of alemtuzumab. Recent evidence on the mechanism of action of alemtuzumab indicates that in addition to its previously known effects of inducing depletion and repopulation of T and B lymphocytes, it also results in a relative increase of cells with memory and regulatory phenotypes and a decrease in cells with a proinflammatory signature, and may further promote an immunoregulatory environment through an impact on other innate immune cells (e.g. dendritic cells) that play a role in MS. These effects may allow preservation of innate immunity and immunosurveillance. Together, these lines of evidence help explain the durable clinical efficacy of alemtuzumab, in the absence of continuous treatment, in patients with RRMS.


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