Abstract | BACKGROUND:
Fatigue is a frequent symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS) and often interrelated with depression and sleep disorders making symptomatic treatment decisions difficult. In the single-arm, observational phase IV TYNERGY study, relapsing-remitting MS patients showed a clinically meaningful decrease in fatigue over 1 year of treatment with natalizumab. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether fatigue improvement might be directly linked to improved depression and day-time sleepiness. METHODS: Patients were assessed regarding fatigue, depression, and day-time sleepiness. The relation between changes of the two latter symptoms and changes in fatigue was analyzed. RESULTS: After 1 year of natalizumab treatment, the majority of patients (>92%) remained stable or improved in total, motor, and cognitive fatigue. Proportion of patients without depression increased by 17% while proportions of mildly depressed patients or patients with potential major depression decreased by 5 and 12%, respectively. Proportion of patients classified as not being sleepy increased by 13% while proportions of sleepy and very sleepy patients decreased by 11 and 2%, respectively. Most importantly, improved depression and sleepiness were significantly related to improved fatigue. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the importance of patient-reported outcomes in identifying potential benefits of drug treatment beyond its well-established effects on disease activity and disability progression.
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Authors | Iris-Katharina Penner, Eva Catharina Sivertsdotter, Elisabeth G Celius, Siegrid Fuchs, Karen Schreiber, Sara Berkö, Anders Svenningsson, TYNERGY trial investigators |
Journal | Frontiers in neurology
(Front Neurol)
Vol. 6
Pg. 18
( 2015)
ISSN: 1664-2295 [Print] Switzerland |
PMID | 25755648
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
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