Current medical research and opinion
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
First-line disease-modifying drugs in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: an Italian real-life multicenter study on persistence.
The introduction of oral disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) in addition to the available, injectable, ones for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) could be expected to improve medication persistence due to a greater acceptability of the route of administration. The aim of the study was to compare the proportion of patients discontinuing injectable DMDs (interferon beta 1a/1b, pegylated interferon, glatiramer acetate) with those discontinuing oral DMDs (dimethylfumarate and teriflunomide) during an observation period of at least 12 months. Secondary aims were to compare the time to discontinuation and the reasons for discontinuation between the two groups and to explore the demographic and clinical factors associated with DMD discontinuation. ⋯ The route of administration alone (i.e. oral versus injectable) was not a significant predictor of persistence with first-line DMDs in RRMS.