The study demonstrated that Copaxone treated patients experienced significantly less brain tissue loss, as measured by percent change in brain volume, compared with patients on other disease-modifying therapies.
In the study, patients receiving Copaxone experienced a reduced mean annualized rate of brain atrophy (ARBA) of -0.46% over five years, while patients receiving Avonex or Betaseron/Rebif experienced mean ARBA of -0.52% and -0.64%, respectively. Patients in the untreated control group with an average follow-up of 15.2 months experienced the highest rate of brain atrophy (-0.95%).
Omar Khan, lead investigator of the study, said: “Although patients showed a significantly lower ARBA in all three treatment groups compared with the untreated group, Copaxone-treated patients demonstrated significantly reduced brain atrophy versus patients treated with either low-dose or high-dose interferon-beta.”