title: Indirect comparisons of treatment effects: Network meta-analyses.
abstract: Many therapeutic options are now available for patients with multiple sclerosis. While the efficacy of each drug has been assessed against placebo or, more recently, against interferon, no direct comparisons of these new therapies have been conducted in randomized clinical trials. Therefore, indirect treatment comparisons are needed to inform clinical decisions. In this brief report, some basic concepts about network meta-analyses that are the formal methods used to run multiple indirect treatment comparisons are reviewed when applied in the context of multiple sclerosis studies.
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Unit, Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sormani
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D000071076:Network Meta-Analysis as Topic; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012107:Research Design
keywords: Indirect treatment comparisons; network meta-analysis