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Editorial commentary
BENEFIT 8-year results provide further support for the long-term value of early treatment of multiple sclerosis
  1. K Fujihara
  1. Correspondence to Dr K Fujihara, Department of Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryomachi, Aobaku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan; fujikazu{at}med.tohoku.ac.jp

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2013-306720

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    Interferon-β-1b therapy started at CIS continued to alleviate risk of clinically definite MS and inhibit cognitive decline after 8 years.

    Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is the first clinical event suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS). Early treatment is advocated in MS since active demyelination and axonal damage are most extensive in the early stages.1 Beyond the threshold of compensation, neuronal loss causes irreversible functional disability. Moreover, over 80% of CIS cases with MS-consistent brain lesions at presentation will eventually convert to clinically definite MS (CDMS) in the natural history.2

    Edan and colleagues reported the 8-year results of interferon-β-1b (IFNB-1b) therapy in CIS patients with two or more asymptomatic T2-hyperintense brain lesions (the BENEFIT study). …

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    Footnotes

    • Funding This work was supported by grants-in-aid for scientific research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (22229008), and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan.

    • Competing interests Dr Fujihara has received honoraria for speaking or consulting and research support from Bayer Schering Pharma, a manufacturer of interferon-β-1b.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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