Abstract
The first pharmacon with proved efficacy for the treatment of patients with the relapsing-remitting or relapsing-progressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS) was interferon-β1b (IFN-β1b). In 1996, we started treating 34 relapsing-remitting (RRMS) and 2 relapsing-progressive MS (RPMS) patients with IFN-β1b. Of these 36 patients, 28 received continuous medication for 6 years. The primary end point of the study was the effect of 6 years of continuous IFN-β1b treatment on the annual relapse rate, the secondary end point was the change in the progression index during the 6 years, and the tertiary end point was the alteration in the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score of the patients. Finally, we give the reasons for the dropouts. The relapse rate decreased by 80.62% (p < 0.001), the mean EDSS score increased significantly, by approximately 0.5 points, to 2.21 ± 1.48 (p = 0.016), and the reduction in the mean progression index was 67.19% (p < 0.001). This increase of < 0.5 point in the EDSS score is appreciably different from the 3-point deterioration expected after 6 years for the natural course of the disease. The significant improvement in the progression index clearly demonstrates that 6 years of IFN-β1b therapy slowed the progression of the disease, thereby improving the quality of life of these MS patients.
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