Early treatment helps prevent or delay the worst of multiple sclerosis

A new study conducted by researchers at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne has revealed that early treatment, particularly within five years of its onset, effectively delays the development of multiple sclerosis ( MS). Such measures may delay progression to the second stage of the disease, characterized by progressive levels of physical and mental disability.

This study is the first to demonstrate that currently available treatments can delay the course of MS.

Preventive measures

The study used data from 1555 patients from 68 neurological clinics in 21 countries. Tomas Kalincik, an badociate professor at the University of Melbourne and co-lead author of the study, says the findings show just how important proactive treatment is in treating MS. The research focused on patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis or clinical surveillance between 1988-2012 and a minimum follow-up of 4 years.

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"People who have gone from a recurrent form of MS to a progressive form of MS are gradually relapsing into a gradual and almost irreversible worsening of their disability," he said.

"Most of the therapies we use to treat MS have no effect once people are converted to secondary progressive MS."

Currently, more than 23,000 Australians live with MS, the paper says. The progressive secondary conversion of MS is characterized by a deterioration of physical and mental capacities. Therefore, the team argues that preventive treatment is a very powerful tool to improve the quality of life of patients with MS.

"This study shows that the therapies with which they have been treated for many years significantly improve their quality of life over the long term," said Kalincik.

Patients included in the study who received "initial treatment with fingolimod, natalizumab or alemtuzumab" had a reduced risk of developing second-stage MS over a 5-year period. All the drugs studied here showed different results, although all were effective. For example, patients initially treated with glatiramer acetate or interferon beta had a 12% chance of converting to secondary MS, versus 27% for the control group. Early treatment with fingolimod reduced this risk to 7%, compared to 32% for controls and natalizumab 19%, compared to 38% for controls.

Kalincik said he hoped the results would rebadure neurologists and MS patients that the disease could be managed and that the worst could be avoided if treatment was started on time. The results should also help indicate the optimal path for treatment, the study adds.

The document "Association of the initial treatment modifying the disease to subsequent conversion to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis" was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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