ABSTRACT
In last decades, practical neurologists are able to use DMT in multiple sclerosis (MS) in every day practice. This paper presents data of 3-year study of DMT (copaxone and betaferon) treatment of 280 patients with definite diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), 166 patients regularly receiving DMT (104--copaxone and 62--betaferon) for, at least, 3 years. Clinical symptoms of the patients, reasons of treatment withdrawal (48--copaxone and 31--betaferon) and the features of MS course after the withdrawal are analyzed. Patients who received betaferon previously had more severe MS course with frequent relapses, half of them had secondary progressive MS course (SPMS) with relapses. This made impossible a direct comparison of the data of two treatment groups. Treatment with copaxone reduced 5 times annual relapse rate, from 1.45 before DMT to 0.27 during these 3 years (p < 0.001), and this reduction remained stable. For 36 months, 40.4% of patients were relapse-free though all of them had, at least, one relapse per year before the treatment. No EDSS progression was observed in 80% of these patients. Treatment with betaferon caused the reduction of relapse rate from 1,84 to 0,69 per year (2.7 times), 8 patients (26%) with previously active RMS being relapse-free for 36 months. In 31 patients with SPMS, the reduction of relapse rate was also significant, from 1.89 to 0.49 (3.8 times, p < 0.001). Twenty-two patients (71%) with previous SPMS did not have EDSS progression for 36 months that indicate the positive effect of the therapy. Side-effects were moderate and were not the main cause of the treatment withdrawal. The latter was caused mainly by clinical un efficacy, most frequently by the increase of EDSS due to transformation of the MS course to SPMS without relapses and poor understanding by the patient of the goals and the possibilities of DMT. These facts stress the significance of improving compliance, motivation and adherence to DMT in everyday neurological practice.