Avicenna Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Background: Physicians generally prescribe disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) to reduce the frequency and severity of relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS). The frequency and severity of side effects are important factors that can affect drug choice. The main purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the side effects of different types of first-line injectable DMDs and determine which drug has more complications, and which drug has the most drug discontinuation rates due to severe side effects.

Methods: Four groups of injectable DMDs were compared in 386 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients in the range of 15-60 years who were controlled with these drugs for at least two years (2017-2019) and had the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) from 0 to 5 without underlying heart and liver diseases. Eventually, the frequency of side effects was determined for each group, and the collected data were compared in each treatment group.

Results: In the present study, 31% of patients had no complications. Most of the reported complications (68.25%) were mild in severity, and only 15.5% of the patients discontinued their therapy.

Conclusion: The findings recommend that the side effects of different DMDs used for RRMS should be studied more comprehensively in clinical and post-marketing trials. Additionally, physicians should take note of these side effects of DMDs in their prescriptions to increase patients’ adherence to therapy.