A new study reports that dimethyl fumarate might be more effective than teriflunomide in preventing relapses in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The study by Buron et al. included 2,236 patients with RRMS — 1,469 on teriflunomide and 767 on dimethyl fumarate. Annualized relapse rates were lower among patients on dimethyl fumarate than among those on teriflunomide (0.09 versus 0.16). Relapse-free survival rate after 48 months of follow-up was significantly greater in patients on dimethyl fumarate, and the incidence of discontinuation due to disease breakthrough was lower in the dimethyl fumarate group (10.2% versus 22.1%). The results were similar after adjustment for the potential confounding effects of baseline MRI T2 lesion number.
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Buron, M. D. et al. Comparative effectiveness of teriflunomide and dimethyl fumarate: a nationwide cohort study. Neurology https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000007314 (2019)
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Kelsey, R. Dimethyl fumarate is more effective than teriflunomide in preventing relapse in RRMS. Nat Rev Neurol 15, 246 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-019-0177-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-019-0177-1