There are four disease-modifying drugs (therapies) that are approved to treat Relapsing-Remitting MS.  The interferon drugs are: Avonex, injected once weekly, intramuscular (into a muscle); Rebif injected subcutaneous (under the skin) three times weekly; Betaseron injected every second day subcutaneous.  There fourth drug is Copaxone, a Glatiramer acetate, injected daily subcutaneous.  Clinical studies have shown that the interferon drugs: Rebif, Avonex, and Betaseron have significant beneficial effects on relapse frequency and disease activity.  Copaxone is made to mimic part of the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves.  Copaxone may work by fooling the immune system into attacking it rather than the myelin.  All of the three therapies are very good and the use of one therapy over another should be determined by the patient and the doctor.  Some doctors tend to lean toward one therapy over another, therefore it is very important for the patient to do their own research on the available therapies. 

 

Since all four therapies slow the progression of MS at the stage that the drug was first administered it is very important that a diagnosis be made as quickly as possible so that the patient may start on a therapy as soon as possible.  All four therapies work to slow the development of new symptoms and hopefully reverse some of the existing symptoms.  The hope for the four therapies is to stop future attacks or exacerbations from occurring.

 

The following is a brief summary of the four drugs:

  1. They reduce MS relapses by about a third
  2. The all have beneficial effects on brain MRI results, to varying degrees.
  3. They do not reverse existing disability, but they may stabilize the disease, although this does not happen for everyone.
  4. They must be injected.
  5. Side effects are usually manageable and self-limiting.  Glatiramer acetate (Copaxone) has the lease side effects.
  6. Their overall effectiveness is modest.
  7. They are very expensive and people using them almost invariably require financial assistance from either an insurance company or a government program.
  8. Because of their modest effectiveness, significant cost and side effects, it up to the patient to decide whether she/he wants to use them and, if so, which one.  The patient should do their own research and discuss the issue with their own neurologist, their own family doctor, and their own family.