PHRM 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Glatiramer Acetate, Elevated Transaminases, Interferon Type I
Document Summary
Shown to reduce rate of relapses may ultimately delay/reduce disease progression. Only benefit rrms, not ppms or spms (little inflammation) Clinical trials mostly for rrms; benefit over placebo, but associated with increased risk of stroke, migraine, depression, and elevated liver enzymes. 0. 25 mg (8 106 units) every second day sc. Cost for a 28-day supply: betaseron (,850), extavia (,700) Local site injections and flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, myalgias) May lessen immune response to live vaccines. Monitor for liver function, cbc, thyroid and neutralizing antibodies prn. Cochrane review suggests that it can reduce relapses, but fails to prevent disease progression; other studies show limited difference between interferon-beta and glatiramer, however this could be due to design flaw. Rrms patients had very low disease activity (low attacks, low lesions), which may have shown equal benefit to interferon-beta. May also reduce rate of conversion to clinically definite ms following a clinically isolated syndrome (cis) Cost for a 28-day supply: copaxone (,450), glatect (,050)
