Do you want to know more about COMBAT-MS?
All MS disease modulatory treatments (DMTs) aim to suppress inflammatory disease activity, but may also have possible side effects. In order to choose the best treatment, both of these aspects must be taken into account.
MS is a complex disease, where disease manifestations and prognosis differ greatly between different individuals. It is also the case that the disease mechanisms change over the course of the disease. This means that one must individually adapt the treatment over time in order to optimize the long-term treatment goals.
On an overall level, the inflammatory disease activity is greatest in younger individuals early in the course of the disease. This means that more effective treatment options have the greatest chance of preventing new symptoms from appearing. With increasing age, inflammatory disease activity tends to decrease and thus the relative benefit of more effective treatments diminishes. At the same time, the risks of side effects can increase, for example by increased susceptibility to infections. Lifestyle factors such as physical activity and refraining from smoking, as well as optimized treatment of possible co-morbidities, are also becoming more important. However, more research is needed so that, especially in certain areas such as diet, one can draw more certain conclusions about what should be recommended if one lives with a diagnosis of MS.
In randomized clinical trials, based on effectiveness and safety outcomes, it is decided whether a drug is approved or not. However, these studies usually run only 2 years and those who can be included in studies may differ from those treated in clinical routine. In addition, patient satisfaction is only measured to a limited extent. Rituximab has been shown to have a beneficial effect as a treatment for MS in observational studies, but no large randomized clinical trial in MS has yet been conducted. The purpose of the COMBAT-MS project is to produce information on long-term effects, patient satisfaction and side effects for all MS treatments including rituximab.
Do you want to know more:
About different treatments for MS
About the Swedish MS registry (part of the Swedish NEURO register)