The role of glatiramer acetate in the early treatment of multiple sclerosis

Review

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Author: David W Brandes

Published Date June 2010 Volume 2010:6(1) Pages 329 - 336

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S5898

David W Brandes

Hope MS Center, Knoxville, TN, USA; ULCA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Abstract: The treatment of the underlying disease process causing multiple sclerosis has continued to evolve since the initial approval of interferon-beta-1b in 1993. Current emphasis is on early treatment, including treatment after a single clinical attack (clinically isolated syndrome). The assessment of which disease modifying medication to use as initial therapy has continued to remain a combination of science and the art of medicine. Equally important are the assessment of treatment failure and the subsequent choice of medication change. This article will present scientific information, as well as information about clinical decision making, about these choices, with emphasis on the changing role of glatiramer acetate in this process.

Keywords: glatiramer acetate, early treatment, multiple sclerosis