US Pharm. 2015;40(5):7.
New York, NY—An international, multisite study has determined that nearly 40% of patients with clinically stable multiple sclerosis (MS) experience relapses or disability progression when they stop taking their medication. Investigators at the NYU Langone MS Comprehensive Care Center prospectively studied relapse and disability-progression rates in 181 patients aged 40 years from a global MS registry. The patients, who had been taking medication for 3 years and had stable disability progression and no relapses, were followed for 3 years following medication cessation. After discontinuation, 24% of patients experienced a clinician-reported relapse, 32% sustained 3-month disability progression, and almost 11% experienced both relapses and disability progression. Restarting the MS medication was associated with a 59% risk reduction in disability progression.
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