Disease activity after discontinuation of disease-modifying therapies in patients with multiple sclerosis in Argentina: data from the nationwide registry RelevarEM

• Published in: Neurological research (New York) 2023-02, Vol.45 (2), p.112-117
• Main Authors: Gisela, Zanga, Carla, Portinari, Josefina, Barber, Tomas, Ibañez, Lucia, Brolese, Pappolla, Agustín, Miguez, Jimena, Patrucco, Liliana, Cristiano, Edgardo, Norma, Deri, Verónica, Tkachuk, Carlos, Vrech, Leila, Cohen, Alonso, Ricardo, Garcea, Orlando, Silva, Berenice, Celica, Ysrraelit, Marrodan, Mariano, Gaitán, María I., Correale, Jorge, Marcos, Burgos, Luciana, Lázaro, Anibal, Chertcoff, Emanuel, Silva, Eduardo, Knorre, Judith, Steinberg, Dario, Tavolini, Javier, Hryb, Pedro, Nofal, Felisa, Leguizamon, Pablo, Lopez A., Susana, Liwacki, Patricio, Blaya, Raul, Piedrabuena, Adriana, Carra, Alejandra, Martinez, María Eugenia, Balbuena, Contentti Edgar, Carnero, Amelia, Alves Pinheiro, Carolina, Mainella, Mariano, Coppola, Luciano, Recchia, Matias, Kohler, Eduardo, Kohler, María Celeste, Curbelo, Maria Laura, Menichini, Santiago, Tizio, Mariela, Cabrera, Fatima, Pagani Cassará, Andres, Barboza, Geraldine, Luetic, Alonso Serena, Marina, Juan Ignacio, Rojas, Marcos, Sorbara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Argentina; Argentina - epidemiology; Discontinuation; Disease-modifying therapies; Humans; Male; multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - drug therapy; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - diagnostic imaging; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - drug therapy; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - pathology; Recurrence; Registries; registry
• ISSN: 0161-6412; 1743-1328
• DOI: 10.1080/01616412.2022.2124792

The discontinuation of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is commonly seen in real-world settings due to several factors. The aim of this study is to describe the frequency of disease activity after discontinuation of DMTs in MS patients included in the Argentinean MS and NMOSD registry. Patients with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) and active secondary progressive MS (SPMS) were included based on the following criteria: they discontinued treatment for more than 6 months, they had been treated with a DMT for ≥2 years, and they had at least 6 months of follow-up in the registry after discontinuation. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Disease activity during follow-up was defined as the presence of a clinical relapse or a new magnetic resonance (MRI) lesion (either new lesions on T2-weighted sequence and/or contrast enhancement). Bivariate analysis was applied to identify clinical and demographic factors related to disease activity. We included 377 patients (75.5% RRMS, 22.5% SPMS) who had discontinued DMTs. The mean (SD) follow-up after discontinuation was 15.7 (7.9) months. After discontinuation, the presence of relapse was detected in 18.8% and 3.5% in RRMS and SPMS, respectively; and new MRI activity in 22% and 3.5%, respectively. We found that higher risk of relapse and MRI activity was associated with younger age (p