title: Laquinimod: a promising oral medication for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MS is a chronic immunological disease of the CNS. Due to a lack of curative treatment approaches, current principles aim at the reduction of inflammatory disease activity. Today, many different substances are under investigation in Phase III clinical trials and hold promise in the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). Laquinimod is a promising new orally administered substance which has demonstrated beneficial effects in placebo-controlled trials in patients with RRMS and is currently under investigation in two global Phase III trials.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors review the pharmaceutical properties of laquinimod, its suggested mechanisms of action, clinical efficacy and adverse profile. This review contains data that have been presented by experts in the field at international meetings and congresses and that have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While laquinimod has been shown to have a promising safety profile, its mechanisms of action are not completely understood and further research is necessary to clarify this. Studies conducted in EAE, the mouse model of MS, have demonstrated immunomodulatory and neuroprotective mechanisms of action. Hopefully, the two current pivotal Phase III trials currently underway will shed some light on laquinimod confirming its clinical potential and add to the current armamentarium for the treatment of RRMS.
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-University Bochum, Department of Neurology at St. Josef-Hospital Bochum, Gudrunstr. 56, 44791 Bochum, Germany. jan_thoene@gmx.de
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thöne
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gold
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015363:Quinolones / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D015363:Quinolones; C476223:laquinimod