title: New natural history of interferon-beta-treated relapsing multiple sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the impact of interferon-beta (IFNbeta) on disease progression in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 1,504 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (1,103 IFNbeta-treated and 401 untreated) patients was followed for up to 7 years. Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted for propensity score inverse weighting was used to assess the differences between the two groups for three different clinical end points: secondary progression (SP) and irreversible Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores 4 and 6. Times from first visit and from date of birth were used as survival time variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The IFNbeta-treated group showed a highly significant reduction in the incidence of SP (hazard ratio [HR], 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-0.58 for time from 1st visit; HR, 0.36, 95% CI, 0.23-0.56 for time from date of birth; p < 0.0001), EDSS score of 4 (HR, 0.70, 95% CI, 0.53-0.94 for time from first visit; HR, 0.69, 95% CI, 0.52-0.93 for time from date of birth; p < 0.02), and EDSS score of 6 (HR, 0.60, 95% CI, 0.38-0.95 for time from first visit; HR, 0.54, 95% CI, 0.34-0.86 for time from date of birth; p < or = 0.03) when compared with untreated patients. SP and EDSS scores of 4 and 6 were reached with significant delays estimated by times from first visit (3.8, 1.7, and 2.2 years) and from date of birth (8.7, 4.6, and 11.7 years) in favor of treated patients. Sensitivity analysis confirmed findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IFN-beta slows progression in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.
authors: Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy. mtrojano@neurol.uniba.it
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Trojano
authors: Fabio
authors: F
authors: Pellegrini
authors: Aurora
authors: A
authors: Fuiani
authors: Damiano
authors: D
authors: Paolicelli
authors: Valentina
authors: V
authors: Zipoli
authors: Giovanni B
authors: GB
authors: Zimatore
authors: Elisabetta
authors: E
authors: Di Monte
authors: Emilio
authors: E
authors: Portaccio
authors: Vito
authors: V
authors: Lepore
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Livrea
authors: Maria Pia
authors: MP
authors: Amato
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007155:Immunologic Factors; D016899:Interferon-beta