Contributions
Abstract: P1241
Type: Poster Sessions
Abstract Category: Therapy - Long-term treatment monitoring
Disease modifying therapies (DMT), which modify, mediate or suppress the immune system, are a major medication class for people with relapsing MS. However, our knowledge about these medications is largely limited to their short-term effects due to the financial and logistical constraints of studying their long-term effects using traditional methods.
The Comparing Australia and New Zealand MS Populations (COMPANZ) project is an ecological, observational cohort study that compared populations with similar demographics, but different levels of access to DMT, in order to determine the long-term effects of DMT on health outcomes. Australia subsidised DMT 6 years before New Zealand (NZ) and used less stringent criteria for access. We utilised convenience samples from the Australian MS longitudinal Study (AMSLS) and the NZ MS Prevalence Study, and compared the treated Australians with the untreated New Zealanders. Our primary outcome was the Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS). Our primary predictors were the use of DMT and the number of months between diagnosis and first DMT treatment. Relationships were assessed with back-transformed linear regression models.
We recruited 328 Australian subjects (72.9% of the eligible cohort), 93.9% of whom were exposed to DMT, and 256 NZ (51.6% of the eligible cohort), 50.8% of whom were exposed to DMT. In our preliminary analysis, DMT use significantly affected EDSS (untreated mean score: 4.14 ± 2.06; treated mean score: 3.59 ± 1.95). However, despite numerical differences, there were no other significant effects of the primary predictor variables.
This large ecological study provides some preliminary evidence for a protective role for DMT therapy at 10-20 years post-diagnosis. However, the effect was not large. This may reflect loss of more severely affected participants due to mortality and illness. This study reflects the difficulty of obtaining meaningful data on long-term outcomes in MS outside of prospective longitudinal cohort studies or clinical trials. Further analysis is underway.
Disclosure: Suzi B Claflin: This study was funded by MS Research Australia.
Deborah Mason: This study was funded by MS Research Australia.
Ingrid van der Mei: This study was funded by MS Research Australia.
Bruce V Taylor: This study was funded by MS Research Australia.
Abstract: P1241
Type: Poster Sessions
Abstract Category: Therapy - Long-term treatment monitoring
Disease modifying therapies (DMT), which modify, mediate or suppress the immune system, are a major medication class for people with relapsing MS. However, our knowledge about these medications is largely limited to their short-term effects due to the financial and logistical constraints of studying their long-term effects using traditional methods.
The Comparing Australia and New Zealand MS Populations (COMPANZ) project is an ecological, observational cohort study that compared populations with similar demographics, but different levels of access to DMT, in order to determine the long-term effects of DMT on health outcomes. Australia subsidised DMT 6 years before New Zealand (NZ) and used less stringent criteria for access. We utilised convenience samples from the Australian MS longitudinal Study (AMSLS) and the NZ MS Prevalence Study, and compared the treated Australians with the untreated New Zealanders. Our primary outcome was the Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS). Our primary predictors were the use of DMT and the number of months between diagnosis and first DMT treatment. Relationships were assessed with back-transformed linear regression models.
We recruited 328 Australian subjects (72.9% of the eligible cohort), 93.9% of whom were exposed to DMT, and 256 NZ (51.6% of the eligible cohort), 50.8% of whom were exposed to DMT. In our preliminary analysis, DMT use significantly affected EDSS (untreated mean score: 4.14 ± 2.06; treated mean score: 3.59 ± 1.95). However, despite numerical differences, there were no other significant effects of the primary predictor variables.
This large ecological study provides some preliminary evidence for a protective role for DMT therapy at 10-20 years post-diagnosis. However, the effect was not large. This may reflect loss of more severely affected participants due to mortality and illness. This study reflects the difficulty of obtaining meaningful data on long-term outcomes in MS outside of prospective longitudinal cohort studies or clinical trials. Further analysis is underway.
Disclosure: Suzi B Claflin: This study was funded by MS Research Australia.
Deborah Mason: This study was funded by MS Research Australia.
Ingrid van der Mei: This study was funded by MS Research Australia.
Bruce V Taylor: This study was funded by MS Research Australia.