Regular MRI evaluations show that only about half of patients with multiple sclerosis achieve and sustain a response to treatment with interferon beta over three years. Illustration showing how multiple sclerosis affects humans
© AFPNovember 10, 2008, (Sawf News) - Regular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluations show that only about half of patients with multiple sclerosis achieve and sustain a response to treatment with interferon beta over three years.
Before the relapse symptoms appear, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) develop contrast-enhancing brain lesions that are visible on MRI. Each relapse is followed by worsening of the disease. “Many clinical studies have demonstrated the ability of interferon beta to reduce contrast-enhancing lesions,” the authors write. “However, little is known regarding the heterogeneity of the MRI response profiles between patients or within an individual patient over time.”
Annie W. Chiu, B.S., and colleagues at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Md., assessed 15 patients with MS who underwent monthly MRIs and clinical examinations during a six-month pretreatment phase and a 36-month treatment phase. During treatment, patients receive injections of 250 micrograms of interferon beta under the skin every other day.
Authors concluded: “To our knowledge, our descriptive study provides for the first time a detailed long-term analysis of MRI patterns of patients undergoing long-term interferon beta-1b therapy
“The results show that on close monthly MRI inspection, approximately half of the patients fail therapy from an MRI perspective.”
“Also, we show that an additional small proportion of patients may not be necessarily recognized as MRI non-responders during the first semester [six months] of therapy, and frequent radiological monitoring is advised during the first year of therapy. Multiple MRIs, beyond the first six months of therapy, also disclose a small proportion of patients with a delayed but eventually sustained response to interferon beta and provide compelling information regarding the clinical outcome of patients during the course of a longer trial.”
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