Investigating the Safety of Fampridine in Patients with Different Stages of Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Fampridine is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to improve their movement and has exhibited a clinically significant improvement in gait function in a subset of MS patients with Expanded Disability Status Scale (ES...

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Main Authors: Saeed Vaheb, Mahour Farzan, Alireza Afshari-Safavi, Narges Ebrahimi, Vahid Shaygannejad, Omid Mirmosayyeb
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-01-01
Series:International Journal of Preventive Medicine
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_292_23
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author Saeed Vaheb
Mahour Farzan
Alireza Afshari-Safavi
Narges Ebrahimi
Vahid Shaygannejad
Omid Mirmosayyeb
author_facet Saeed Vaheb
Mahour Farzan
Alireza Afshari-Safavi
Narges Ebrahimi
Vahid Shaygannejad
Omid Mirmosayyeb
author_sort Saeed Vaheb
collection DOAJ
description Background: Fampridine is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to improve their movement and has exhibited a clinically significant improvement in gait function in a subset of MS patients with Expanded Disability Status Scale (ESDSS) from 4 to 7. Nevertheless, this drug has been reported to possess some adverse effects (AEs) like seizure because of its pharmacological features. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence rate of post-medication side effects (SEs) of fampridine in MS patients. Methods: This prospective cohort study includes MS patients aged between 18 and 65 years, referred to the neurology clinic of Kashani Hospital from April 2022 to October 2022, all with administration of fampridine (10 mg tablet twice daily according to the product specifications). Safety in these patients was monitored through monthly SEs checklist questions during 6 months of screening. SPSS version 18 was used to analyze the data of this study. Results: From 319 participants screened at baseline, 254 patients with MS, including 127 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), 101 secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and 26 primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), were included in the study. The most observed AEs in SPMS and RRMS patients were dry mouth (13.9% vs. 15%) and insomnia (12.9% vs. 11%), respectively. Urinary tract infection (UTI) (11.5%) and stomachache (11.5%) were the most common SEs in PPMS patients. The most severe complication of the patients was back pain, while digestive complications were less severe. Also, insomnia and UTI were the patients’ most persistent SEs. Conclusions: The drug seems to be safe and well tolerated, as the SEs were mild and transient and they were consistent with most of the previous studies focusing on this medication.
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spelling doaj-art-15d7e01798cc4edead544b50602fed252025-02-10T15:22:53ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsInternational Journal of Preventive Medicine2008-78022008-82132025-01-011616610.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_292_23Investigating the Safety of Fampridine in Patients with Different Stages of Multiple SclerosisSaeed VahebMahour FarzanAlireza Afshari-SafaviNarges EbrahimiVahid ShaygannejadOmid MirmosayyebBackground: Fampridine is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to improve their movement and has exhibited a clinically significant improvement in gait function in a subset of MS patients with Expanded Disability Status Scale (ESDSS) from 4 to 7. Nevertheless, this drug has been reported to possess some adverse effects (AEs) like seizure because of its pharmacological features. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence rate of post-medication side effects (SEs) of fampridine in MS patients. Methods: This prospective cohort study includes MS patients aged between 18 and 65 years, referred to the neurology clinic of Kashani Hospital from April 2022 to October 2022, all with administration of fampridine (10 mg tablet twice daily according to the product specifications). Safety in these patients was monitored through monthly SEs checklist questions during 6 months of screening. SPSS version 18 was used to analyze the data of this study. Results: From 319 participants screened at baseline, 254 patients with MS, including 127 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), 101 secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and 26 primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), were included in the study. The most observed AEs in SPMS and RRMS patients were dry mouth (13.9% vs. 15%) and insomnia (12.9% vs. 11%), respectively. Urinary tract infection (UTI) (11.5%) and stomachache (11.5%) were the most common SEs in PPMS patients. The most severe complication of the patients was back pain, while digestive complications were less severe. Also, insomnia and UTI were the patients’ most persistent SEs. Conclusions: The drug seems to be safe and well tolerated, as the SEs were mild and transient and they were consistent with most of the previous studies focusing on this medication.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_292_23drug adverse reactionsfampridinemultiple sclerosissafety
spellingShingle Saeed Vaheb
Mahour Farzan
Alireza Afshari-Safavi
Narges Ebrahimi
Vahid Shaygannejad
Omid Mirmosayyeb
Investigating the Safety of Fampridine in Patients with Different Stages of Multiple Sclerosis
International Journal of Preventive Medicine
drug adverse reactions
fampridine
multiple sclerosis
safety
title Investigating the Safety of Fampridine in Patients with Different Stages of Multiple Sclerosis
title_full Investigating the Safety of Fampridine in Patients with Different Stages of Multiple Sclerosis
title_fullStr Investigating the Safety of Fampridine in Patients with Different Stages of Multiple Sclerosis
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the Safety of Fampridine in Patients with Different Stages of Multiple Sclerosis
title_short Investigating the Safety of Fampridine in Patients with Different Stages of Multiple Sclerosis
title_sort investigating the safety of fampridine in patients with different stages of multiple sclerosis
topic drug adverse reactions
fampridine
multiple sclerosis
safety
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_292_23
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