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
. 2021 May-Jun;118(3):239-245.

Polypharmacy in Multiple Sclerosis: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Joanie Thelen  1 , Valeriy Zvonarev  2 , Sarah Lam  3 , Crystal Burkhardt  4 , Sharon Lynch  5 , Jared Bruce  6
Affiliations

Polypharmacy in Multiple Sclerosis: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Joanie Thelen et al. Mo Med. 2021 May-Jun.

Abstract

Polypharmacy, or the daily use of five or more medications, is well documented in older adults and linked to negative outcomes such as medication errors, adverse drug reactions, and increased healthcare utilization. Like older adults, people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are susceptible to polypharmacy, owing to the variety of treatments used to address individual multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms and other comorbidities. Between 15-65% of PwMS meet criteria for polypharmacy; in this population, polypharmacy is associated with increased reports of fatigue, subjective cognitive impairment, and reduced quality of life. Despite evidence of adverse outcomes, polypharmacy among PwMS remains a neglected area of research. This article examines the current literature regarding polypharmacy in MS, as well as implications for clinical practice and directions for future research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Disability Progression Across Subtypes of Multiple Sclerosis
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Goodin DS. The epidemiology of multiple sclerosis: insights to disease pathogenesis. Handb Clin Neurol. 2014;122:231–266. - PubMed
    1. Doshi A, Chataway J. Multiple sclerosis, a treatable disease. Clin Med (Lond) 2016;16(Suppl 6):s53–s59. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Koch-Henriksen N, Sorensen PS. The changing demographic pattern of multiple sclerosis epidemiology. Lancet Neurol. 2010;9(5):520–532. - PubMed
    1. Zheleznyakova GY, Piket E, Marabita F, et al. Epigenetic research in multiple sclerosis: progress challenges, and opportunities. Physiol Genomics. 2017;49(9):447–461. - PubMed
    1. Chan VS. Epigenetics in Multiple Sclerosis. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2020;1253:309–374. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources