VIDEO: Relapse rates low for MS patients on dimethyl fumarate
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BOSTON — Relapse rates for patients with MS who took dimethyl fumarate were consistently low over the course of 5 years, Krupa Shah Pandey, MD, said in this Healio video.
“The objective of this study, [which was presented at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting,] was to see how we as neurologists, who might be prescribing dimethyl fumarate, did over the course of 5 years in a global, prospective, noninterventional study,” Pandey, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center and clinical research at Hackensack University Medical Center, said.
Of more than 5,000 patients included, serious adverse events occurred in less than 2%, and gastrointestinal-related dysfunction occurred in less than 10%, she said. The annualized MS relapse rates remained consistently low over 5 years. Study participants also had low rates of absenteeism from work.
Pandey noted, “We found the conclusion of the study was quite favorable and in line with keeping patients on this medication if this is a safe and viable option for them for relapsing MS.”