25th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ECTRIMS), Dusseldorf, Germany
Fewer Injection Site Reactions Occur in Patients Using Interferon Beta-1a IM
Data from an observational phase IV study of 499 patients—the Swiss MS Skin Project—showed that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) taking interferon beta-1a IM reported significantly fewer injection site reactions, compared with patients who took interferon beta-1b, glatiramer acetate, or interferon beta-1a. The study also found that patients taking interferon beta-1a IM were less likely to have missed a dose due to an injection site reaction in the four weeks prior to first assessment than those patients on other interferon therapies.
“This study showed that treatment with interferon beta-1a IM leads to fewer injection site reactions, which is an important factor in improving compliance,” said Karsten Beer, lead investigator for the study and a private neurologist in Wil, Switzerland. “As the only once-weekly injection treatment, interferon beta-1a IM offers people with relapsing MS an easy-to-use and highly effective treatment option. Convenience of an MS therapy is an important consideration for patients, as they do not want a therapy that will interfere with their daily lives.”
The Swiss MS Skin Project was designed to determine the frequency of injection site reactions, including skin necrosis and lipoatrophy, in patients taking interferon beta-1a IM, interferon beta-1b, glatiramer acetate, or interferon beta-1a. Injection site reactions are believed to reduce treatment compliance among patients. The study enrolled nearly 500 patients on interferon beta-1a IM, interferon beta-1b, glatiramer acetate, or interferon beta-1a for a minimum of two years (mean treatment duration, 5.9 years) and followed patients for one year.
At the first assessment, significantly fewer patients who took interferon beta-1a IM experienced injection site reactions (13.4% vs 57.7% of those who used interferon beta-1b, 30.4% for glatiramer acetate, and 67.9% for interferon beta-1a); necrosis (0% vs 5.7% for interferon beta-1b, 0% for glatiramer acetate, and 6.0% for interferon beta-1a); and lipoatrophy (1.2 % vs 8.9% for interferon beta-1b, 13.0% for glatiramer acetate, and 10.3% for interferon beta-1a).
No patients who used interferon beta-1a IM missed a dose in the four weeks prior to first assessment due to injection site reactions (vs 5.7% of patients using interferon beta-1b, 4.3% for glatiramer acetate, and 7.1% for interferon beta-1a). These percentages were statistically significant, compared with use of interferon beta-1b and interferon beta-1a. In addition, significantly more patients remained on interferon beta-1a IM throughout the one-year trial (86.6% vs 79.7% of subjects who used interferon beta-1b, 60.9% for glatiramer acetate, and 83.2% for interferon beta-1a) than on any other treatment.
Patients Taking Natalizumab Report Improvement in Physical and Psychologic Well-Being
Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) taking natalizumab experienced an improvement in both their physical function and psychologic well-being, according to six-month results of an ongoing, one-year longitudinal, observational, patient-reported outcomes study. The study, which was the first to assess patient experiences with natalizumab in usual-care settings, found that patients who used natalizumab reported an improvement in their overall quality of life.
“The symptoms that a patient with MS deals with on a daily basis result in significant psychologic and physical effects that can adversely impact their quality of life,” said William Stuart, MD, Medical Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta. “In a previous pivotal trial, natalizumab not only showed a reduction in relapse rates and disability progression, but also improved quality of life. Results from this observational study further demonstrate the impact of natalizumab on improving MS patients’ well-being as reported by patients who live with this disease every day.”
The trial assessed health outcomes from patients’ perspectives before starting natalizumab and after the third, sixth, and 12th infusions of the drug. A majority of the patients in the study are female (76.3%), with a mean age of 46.6 and mean disease duration of 10 years.
After six natalizumab infusions, patients reported statistically significant improvement in disease-specific quality of life, measured with use of the MS Impact Scale-29 (MSIS-29), which assesses the physical impact of MS in terms of mobility and self-care, as well as the psychologic impact of MS in terms of anxiety/depression, with lower scores indicating better quality of life. Patients also reported statistically significant improvement in general health-related quality of life, as measured by the 12-item Short Form Scale (SF-12) health survey, which assesses the physical and mental health, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.
Both scales assess patient experience of the physical and psychologic aspects of quality of life. For the MSIS-29 subscales, statistically significant improvements were observed over time for both the physical (baseline, 46.87; third infusion, 39.60; sixth infusion, 39.27) and psychologic (baseline, 41.56; third infusion, 33.77; sixth infusion, 33.20) impact scores.