Today is the 14th World Multiple Sclerosis Day. There are currently more than 30,000 multiple sclerosis patients in my country, most of whom are between the ages of 20 and 40, at a critical moment in life. Each acute attack will further worsen the disease, easily lead to disability, and bring a heavy burden to patients and their families.
Prof. Xu Yan, deputy head of the Neuroimmunology Group of the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and chief physician of the Department of Neurology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, believes that the disease-modifying treatment in remission and the whole course of the disease Management is particularly critical. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a rare disease characterized by inflammatory demyelinating lesions of the central nervous system. Without timely and standardized treatment, most patients will appear due to irreversible neurological deficits. Paralysis, blindness and other consequences, so it is also one of the most common disabling neurological diseases in young adults in the world.
Because early symptoms are easily overlooked, coupled with different clinical manifestations, complex symptoms, and easy confusion with other diseases, multiple sclerosis is easily missed and misdiagnosed. The treatment of multiple sclerosis mainly has two phases: acute phase and remission phase, in which remission phase is an ideal time window to control disease progression. At present, disease-modifying therapy (DMT) is the standard treatment in remission period recommended by domestic and foreign treatment guidelines and expert consensus, which helps to reduce and reduce the frequency and severity of relapse in patients.
The preliminary results of the “Multiple Sclerosis Doctor-Patient Treatment Preference Survey” disclosed this time also show that patients are concerned about the efficacy and safety of DMT drugs. The survey was initiated by the China Rare Disease Alliance and supported by Sanofi China in December last year. The sample size covers 199 patients with multiple sclerosis. The complete survey results are expected to be announced in August this year. The preliminary results of the first phase of the survey showed that among the factors affecting the choice of treatment options for patients, the efficacy and safety of drugs to control disability progression are the two key factors, accounting for 33.25% and 30.33%, respectively.
For a long time in the past, patients with multiple sclerosis had no international standard disease-modifying treatment options available, and many clinicians had to use low-dose hormones and traditional immunosuppressants for treatment. However, none of them can control the disease progression for a long time and have safety risks. In recent years, a number of DMT drugs have entered the national medical insurance, among which there are innovative oral drugs that can reduce the annual recurrence rate by about 71%.
The “Multiple Sclerosis Patient Diary” created by Sanofi China and China Medical and Health Culture Association was also officially launched. Xu Yan said, “Patient Diary is a disease management tool tailored for Chinese multiple sclerosis patients. It mainly includes three major contents: daily medication records, weekly symptom records and each visit to a doctor. There are small programs and paper There are two quality versions, which can meet the different needs of patient groups and help patients manage their diseases in a scientific and standardized manner.”
Xinmin Evening News reporter Zuo Yan