Early relapse in multiple sclerosis-associated optic neuritis following the use of interferon beta-1a in Chinese patients.
OBJECTIVE
The incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) is relatively rare in Chinese. The beneficial effect of interferon beta-1a in modifying the disease course of MS has been rarely analyzed in Chinese patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical response to interferon beta1-a in Chinese patients with MS-associated optic neuritis (ON).


METHODS
A retrospective case control study was conducted in 20 MS patients with optic nerve involvement. The interferon (IF) group comprised ten patients receiving interferon beta-1a. The noninterferon (NIF) group comprised another ten MS patients with optic nerve involvement who did not receive interferon treatment. The clinical characteristics, laboratory data, management, and disease course were retrospectively analyzed. The main outcomes of the study were the annualized relapse rate (ARR) for MS, and final visual outcome data.


RESULTS
The ARR did not differ between the pretreatment period and the posttreatment period within the IF group. There was also no significant decrease of ARR in the IF group when compared with the NIF group. However, we observed an early recurrence of ON in 50% of the IF cases following the use of interferon beta-1a. The final visual outcome did not differ between the IF group and the NIF group.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of interferon beta-1a should be carefully monitored because early relapse of ON may complicate the treatment course in this patient group.
Wang
An-Guor
AG
Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Lin
Yen-Ching
YC
Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Wang
Shuu-Jiun
SJ
Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Tsai
Ching-Piao
CP
Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yen
May-Yung
MY
Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. myyen@vghtpe.gov.tw.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. myyen@vghtpe.gov.tw.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000068576:Interferon beta-1b; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009902:Optic Neuritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity
D000068576:Interferon beta-1b; D016899:Interferon-beta