A team led by researchers at the New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Centerrecently assessed what happens when clinically stable patients with multiple sclerosis(MS) stop taking their medication and found that almost 40% of them experience to some extent a return in disease activity and related symptoms. The results of this study were presented on April 22, 2015 during the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting being held in Washington, D.C, Poster Session V – P5.192 entitled “Doctor, can I stop my medicine? Analysis of disease course after stopping disease-modifying therapy in stable MS patients.”
MS is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that results from the attack on the central nervous system by the body’s own immune system, causing inflammation and damage to the myelin layer that covers and protects neurons. Myelin loss leads to impairment in signal transmission along nerve fibers, affecting motor function (like coordination, balance, speech and vision), causing irreversible neurological disability and partial or complete paralysis. It is estimated that more than 2.3 million people in the world suffer from MS.
“Decisions regarding stopping disease-modifying therapy may have implications for short and long-term prognosis. We know a lot about what happens when therapy is started, but we know very little about what happens when therapy is stopped,” noted the study’s lead author Dr. Ilya Kister in a NYU Langone press release.
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