A comparison of interferon beta therapies for RRMS.
 

Dept. of Neurology,

Cologne City Hospitals,

University of Colognen, Ostmerheimerstr. 200, 51109,

Cologne, Germany

Interferon beta preparations are the most frequently prescribed therapies for patients with relapsing MS (MS).  There are three different kinds of Interferon beta medications:  Avonex, Betaseron, and Rebif.  Several open-label observational studies report similar efficacy among Interferon beta preparations.

The Quality Assessment in MS Therapy (QUASIMS) study is a large, open-label observational study designed to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of available Interferon beta preparations as disease-modifying therapies for relapsing MS across a wide range of clinical practice settings. This retrospective, controlled cohort study was conducted by chart review at 510 sites in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Ø     Enrolled patients had received one of the four available Interferon beta preparations/dosing regimens

Ø     (intramuscular Interferon beta-1a 30 microg 1x/week [Avonex((R))], subcutaneous (SC) Interferon beta-1a 22 or

Ø     44 microg 3x/week [Rebif((R))], or

Ø     SC Interferon beta-1b 250 microg 3.5x/week [Betaferon/Betaseron((R))])

for >/= 2 years.

Preplanned outcomes at 1 and 2 years included:

Ø     change from baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score,

Ø     percentage of progression-free patients (< 1.0 EDSS point),

Ø     annualised relapse rate (RR),

Ø     percentage of relapse-free patients, and

Ø     reasons for therapy change.

Of 4754 evaluable patients, 3991 (84%) received Interferon beta as initial therapy.

There were no significant differences among Interferon betas when used as initial or follow-up therapy on almost all outcome variables. Relapse rate was consistently higher and percentage of relapse-free patients consistently lower for all products used as follow-up versus initial therapy.

Results of QUASIMS showed similar effectiveness among Interferon beta products. Benefits were consistently superior when Interferon beta was used as initial rather than follow-up therapy.