An epidemiological study on the course of disease and therapeutic considerations in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis patients receiving injectable first-line disease-modifying therapies in Germany (EPIDEM):

Background:In relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), ‘no evidence of disease activity’ (NEDA) is regarded as a key treatment goal. The increasing number of treatments allows for individualized treatment optimization in patients with suboptimal response to first-line disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). Therefore, monitoring of clinical and subclinical disease activity on DMTs has been recognized as an important component of long-term patient management.Methods:EPIDEM was a multicenter non-interventional retrospective study in a large cohort of RRMS patients receiving injectable DMTs for at least 2 years in outpatient centers throughout Germany. It documented measures and ratings of disease activity on DMTs to characterize the factors that made the treating neurologists consider to switch therapy towards potentially more effective or better-tolerated drugs.Results:The cohort included predominantly female patients with a mean age of 45 years and a mean disease duration of 9.6 years, who had been cont...