Work

Dimethyl fumarate mitigates optic neuritis.

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Purpose: Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a demyelinating autoimmune disease characterized by acute episodes of motor, sensory, and cognitive symptoms. Optic neuritis is an episodic sequela experienced by some patients with RRMS that typically presents as acute, monocular vision loss. Episodes of optic neuritis damage and kill retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), and can culminate in permanent vision loss. The purpose of these studies was to evaluate the capacity of DMF to mitigate optic neuritis. The work presented combines studies of a mouse model of MS and a retrospective chart analysis of files of patients with RRMS treated at the MS Center of Excellence within the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Methods: target genes and regulators of myelin. Retrospective chart analyses were performed using data obtained from deidentified files of patients with RRMS. Results: target genes. A complementary retrospective chart analysis demonstrated that DMF increased the time to a recurrence of optic neuritis, and protected against subsequent bouts of optic neuritis. Conclusions: This work underscores the potential of DMF to mitigate the severity and recurrence of optic neuritis episodes in patients with RRMS.

Source: PubMed Central