Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

A comparative study of fatigue and processing speed in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab or rituximab

Hellgren, Johan LU ; Strandberg, Maria Compagno LU ; Källén, Kristina LU and Svenningsson, Anders (2024) In Multiple Sclerosis Journal - Experimental, Translational and Clinical 10(2).
Abstract

Background: Fatigue is the most debilitating symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Natalizumab and rituximab are the most used MS disease modifying therapies in Sweden, but comparative data on the effect on fatigue is sparse. Objective: Primary objective was to compare fatigue levels between patients on natalizumab and rituximab. As secondary objective, we assessed processing speed, an attention domain quality, between treatment groups. Method: In this Swedish multicentre cross-sectional study, patients with relapsing-remitting MS and >24 months treatment duration were identified in the Swedish MS-registry. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive functions (FSMC) and processing speed using... (More)

Background: Fatigue is the most debilitating symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Natalizumab and rituximab are the most used MS disease modifying therapies in Sweden, but comparative data on the effect on fatigue is sparse. Objective: Primary objective was to compare fatigue levels between patients on natalizumab and rituximab. As secondary objective, we assessed processing speed, an attention domain quality, between treatment groups. Method: In this Swedish multicentre cross-sectional study, patients with relapsing-remitting MS and >24 months treatment duration were identified in the Swedish MS-registry. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive functions (FSMC) and processing speed using Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Results: 128 patients were enrolled (natalizumab: 56, rituximab: 72). No significant differences in FSMC were found when adjusting for potential confounders (p = 0.936), with age having the biggest impact, correlating with increased fatigue. Individuals on natalizumab performed significantly better on SDMT at cross-section (natalizumab 64.7, rituximab 56.2; p = 0.003), with an improvement from treatment initiation, compared to rituximab (change: natalizumab 8.9, rituximab −1.0; p = 0.002). Conclusion: We found no difference in fatigue levels between natalizumab and rituximab cohorts. Patients treated with natalizumab showed significantly better results on SDMT than patients on rituximab.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cognition, fatigue, Multiple sclerosis, natalizumab, patient reported outcome measures, rituximab
in
Multiple Sclerosis Journal - Experimental, Translational and Clinical
volume
10
issue
2
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • pmid:38807848
  • scopus:85194540569
ISSN
2055-2173
DOI
10.1177/20552173241252566
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e1eedf14-b72f-4495-8fa2-8bdacd6784f4
date added to LUP
2024-09-04 13:42:35
date last changed
2024-09-05 03:00:03
@article{e1eedf14-b72f-4495-8fa2-8bdacd6784f4,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Fatigue is the most debilitating symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Natalizumab and rituximab are the most used MS disease modifying therapies in Sweden, but comparative data on the effect on fatigue is sparse. Objective: Primary objective was to compare fatigue levels between patients on natalizumab and rituximab. As secondary objective, we assessed processing speed, an attention domain quality, between treatment groups. Method: In this Swedish multicentre cross-sectional study, patients with relapsing-remitting MS and &gt;24 months treatment duration were identified in the Swedish MS-registry. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive functions (FSMC) and processing speed using Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Results: 128 patients were enrolled (natalizumab: 56, rituximab: 72). No significant differences in FSMC were found when adjusting for potential confounders (p = 0.936), with age having the biggest impact, correlating with increased fatigue. Individuals on natalizumab performed significantly better on SDMT at cross-section (natalizumab 64.7, rituximab 56.2; p = 0.003), with an improvement from treatment initiation, compared to rituximab (change: natalizumab 8.9, rituximab −1.0; p = 0.002). Conclusion: We found no difference in fatigue levels between natalizumab and rituximab cohorts. Patients treated with natalizumab showed significantly better results on SDMT than patients on rituximab.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hellgren, Johan and Strandberg, Maria Compagno and Källén, Kristina and Svenningsson, Anders}},
  issn         = {{2055-2173}},
  keywords     = {{cognition; fatigue; Multiple sclerosis; natalizumab; patient reported outcome measures; rituximab}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{2}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Multiple Sclerosis Journal - Experimental, Translational and Clinical}},
  title        = {{A comparative study of fatigue and processing speed in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab or rituximab}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552173241252566}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/20552173241252566}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}