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therapies (DMTs)
for MS
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3 A DMT can cut down the number of relapses you get and
slow down how fast your disability gets worse
4 Drugs that hit MS the hardest can also have the most
serious side effects
5
DMTs help if you get relapses. But we hope the first drug
that also works against non-relapsing, progressive MS will
be available in 2017 or 2018
All the drugs in this booklet are You can get more detailed
used if your multiple sclerosis information on each drug in
has relapses. There are two our DMT factsheets at
www.mssociety.org.uk/dmts
You sit in a chair or lie on a bed. The drug is pumped into your
bloodstream through a needle that goes into a vein in your arm or
leg. An infusion takes two to four hours depending on the drug.
How often you have infusions is different for each drug. It can be
every four weeks or every six months. For one DMT people usually
only ever need two or three infusions.
Injections - Some DMTs you inject yourself with. You could ask
a friend or a relative to do it. Depending on the drug you’ll inject
every other day, three times a week, once a week or every two to
four weeks.
Injecting often just means clicking on a ‘pen’ that you hold against
your skin. You don’t see the needle go in. Many people who didn’t
like the idea of injecting find they soon get used to this.
‘There are too many tests’ • MRI scans show new areas of
damage (lesions)
DMTs, especially the more
powerful ones, can have side • the DMT is no longer working
effects. That’s why you might need because your body is making
regular monitoring. Tests catch neutralising antibodies to it
problems early so that they can • you find it hard to take your
be treated before they get serious. DMT. Maybe side effects are
Before you start a DMT, your too much or you have an
specialist will talk to you about allergic reaction to the drug
tests you need. If tests are too • a treatment comes along
much for you, let your specialist that’s better for you
know. You might be able to switch
to another drug. You usually need to take a drug
for at least six months before
Looking again at what I switching (unless you get an
decided earlier allergy, then you stop it at once).
Once a year or so it’s a good idea It’s your right to ask about
for you and your MS team to look different drugs if you feel the one
again at what you decided about you’re on isn’t right for you.
treating your MS. For example, if
With some DMTs, before you start trying for a baby, you need to stop
taking it and let the amount of drug in your body fall to a safe level.
The time this takes – the ‘washout period’ – is different for each drug.
To find out more about pregnancy and a particular DMT check out
our factsheet for that drug at www.mssociety.org.uk/dmts
GOOD
dimethyl relapsing MS
fumarate
(Tecfidera)
GOOD
teriflunomide relapsing MS
(Aubagio)
MODERATE
*When this booklet was written, ocrelizumab hadn’t been given the go-ahead to be used in any country.
So there’s no agreement yet about how to rate it for its side effects and how good it controls MS. See page
46 for more on how well it worked in a trial.
• Avonex
• Betaferon
How many people stayed free of Disability didn’t get worse over
relapses when they took this drug? three years for 87% of people who
took daclizumab.
67% of people who took
daclizumab stayed free of
relapses over nearly three years.
orange = no relapses
purple = disability didn’t get worse
This resource is
also available in
large print.
MS National Centre
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info@mssociety.org.uk
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Online
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MS Society Scotland
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MS Society Cymru
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BK03
© MS Society. August 2016
This title will be reviewed within three years of publication.