Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 May;3(3):294-302.
doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2013.11.005. Epub 2013 Nov 26.

Short-term and long-term safety and tolerability of interferon β-1b in multiple sclerosis

Anthony T Reder  1 , Joel F Oger  2 , Ludwig Kappos  3 , Paul O'Connor  4 , Mark Rametta  5
Affiliations
Review

Short-term and long-term safety and tolerability of interferon β-1b in multiple sclerosis

Anthony T Reder et al. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2014 May.

Abstract

Clinical trials have generated a wealth of data on the safety profile of interferon β-1b for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In general, interferon β-1b has not been associated with serious or life-threatening side effects during long-term treatment. Flu-like symptoms, injection site reactions, depression, and elevated liver transaminases were the most common adverse events in clinical trials. This review will discuss the rates of these and other common adverse events observed in 3 clinical trials of interferon β-1b: BENEFIT, BEYOND, and the 16-year Long-Term Follow-up (LTF) of the pivotal interferon β-1b trial in MS, as well as how these adverse events may influence patient and physician decision making when selecting a disease-modifying therapy. In addition, we will discuss the effects of interferon β-1b on mortality in the 16-year and 21-year LTF studies.

Keywords: Interferon β-1b; Long-term follow-up; Mortality; Multiple sclerosis; Safety; Tolerability.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources