_**Efficacy: **_
"30% lower than the rate for those taking a placebo," said Russell Katz, MD," _**What does that mean?**_
Maybe not as clear as just a percent reduction in releases, think compounding. Sagepub has an article [2] discussing this topic. One thing is for sure you need all the intimate details of a study to know what was really measured. After several years the number of relapses may have fallen by a much greater amount than 30% mentioned. The efficacy of RRMS Drugs (Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis) is measured in how well it decreases the_** annualized relapse rates (ARR)**_.
The new form of MS drugs: Oral
S**_uch rates are subject to interpretation and statistical manipulation._**
Quoting [2] :
"…Out of the 72 randomized control trials, 56 (77.8%) articles had defined relapse or exacerbation, while 17 (23.7%) did not define the term relapse or exacerbation. Of these 56 articles, the study population consisted of 37 (66.1%) with RRMS, 8 (14.3%) were either RRMS or SPMS, and 11 (19.6%) involved other or unknown MS categories…"
_**The patient taking Aubagio has to accept the following liver risks:**_
"…A boxed warning will alert prescribers to the risk for liver problems, including death, and a risk for birth defects with use of teriflunomide. "Physicians should do blood tests to check liver function before a patient starts taking Aubagio, and periodically during treatment," the FDA statement notes…"
Technically, this is how Aubagio works:
"…Teriflunomide is a once-daily oral immunomodulator developed as a disease-modifying therapy for MS. It reversibly inhibits …a key mitochondrial enzyme involved in pyrimidine synthesis for DNA replication. _As a result, the drug reduces T- and B-cell proliferation and function in response to autoantigens but preserves the replication and function of cells _
_**Lexicon:**_
* Mitochondrion : membrane-enclosed organelle, or mini organ, at the cellular level
_**Sources:**_
1. [Medscape](http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/770822?src=nl_topic) ; "FDA Approves Second Oral Drug for MS" ; Sep 2012
2. [sagepub ; Multiple Sclerosis ;](http://msj.sagepub.com/content/16/12/1414.full.pdf) ""Assessing changes in relapse rates in multiple sclerosis" ; 2010
](http://www.medinewsdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Prescription_Drug.jpg){kind=link}
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