title: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in response to interferon-beta therapy in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Interferon-beta (IFN-β) is one of the main first-line disease-modifying drugs indicated for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The drug exhibits only limited effectiveness, and does not produce clinical benefits in around 20%-50% of patients. The availability of biomarkers would be beneficial for identification of patients at high risk of treatment failure, before initiation of therapy. Over the last 5 years, the search for such biomarkers has intensified and various promising candidates have been uncovered. Here, we review the main attempts undertaken to identify polymorphic variants associated with response to IFN-β therapy in MS by means of candidate gene approaches and whole-genome association scans. Despite substantial progress made in the field, there is still a long way to go before biomarker discoveries can be incorporated into clinical practice to predict IFN-β-responder status in MS patients.
authors.affiliation: Neurogenomiks Group, Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain. k.vandenbroeck@ikerbasque.org
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vandenbroeck
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comabella
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D010597:Pharmacogenetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D016899:Interferon-beta