Over a long period of time, to keep down the number of attacks and how severe they are (disease-modifying therapy).
Should I have disease-modifying therapy for MS?
Side effects are often onerous enough that many patients ultimately discontinue taking Interferons (or glatiramer acetate, a comparable disease-modifying therapies requiring regular injections).
Medicines used to treat MS are called disease-modifying therapies, and they include:
If you decide not to try disease-modifying therapy at this time, you can work with your doctor to regularly evaluate whether the disease is progressing.
If you are not taking disease-modifying therapy at this time, you can continue to work with your doctor to regularly evaluate the disease's progress.
That's because doctors have changed how multiple sclerosis is diagnosed, based on strong evidence for the benefits of disease-modifying therapies.
Making a decision about starting disease-modifying therapy can be hard, especially if your symptoms have been mild.
Imuran may also be used with other disease-modifying therapies, such as Avonex, to boost their effect.
Over a long period of time, to alter the natural course of the disease (disease-modifying therapy).
