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Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Fingolimod for relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis

Overview of attention for article published in Cochrane database of systematic reviews, April 2016
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  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (88th percentile)
  • Above-average Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (57th percentile)

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1 blog
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8 X users
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2 Facebook pages
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3 Wikipedia pages

Citations

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65 Dimensions

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mendeley
276 Mendeley
Title
Fingolimod for relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis
Published in
Cochrane database of systematic reviews, April 2016
DOI 10.1002/14651858.cd009371.pub2
Pubmed ID
Authors

Loredana La Mantia, Irene Tramacere, Belal Firwana, Ilaria Pacchetti, Roberto Palumbo, Graziella Filippini

Abstract

Fingolimod was approved in 2010 for the treatment of patients with the relapsing-remitting (RR) form of multiple sclerosis (MS). It was designed to reduce the frequency of exacerbations and to delay disability worsening. Issues on its safety and efficacy, mainly as compared to other disease modifying drugs (DMDs), have been raised. To assess the safety and benefit of fingolimod versus placebo, or other disease-modifying drugs (DMDs), in reducing disease activity in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). We searched the Cochrane Multiple Sclerosis and Rare Diseases of the Central Nervous System (CNS) Group's Specialised Trials Register and US Food and Drug Administration reports (15 February 2016). Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the beneficial and harmful effects of fingolimod versus placebo or other approved DMDs in people with RRMS. We used standard methodological procedures as expected by Cochrane. Six RCTs met our selection criteria. The overall population included 5152 participants; 1621 controls and 3531 treated with fingolimod at different doses; 2061 with 0.5 mg, 1376 with 1.25 mg, and 94 with 5.0 mg daily. Among the controls, 923 participants were treated with placebo and 698 with others DMDs. The treatment duration was six months in three, 12 months in one, and 24 months in two trials. One study was at high risk of bias for blinding, three studies were at high risk of bias for incomplete outcome reporting, and four studies were at high risk of bias for other reasons (co-authors were affiliated with the pharmaceutical company). We retrieved 10 ongoing trials; four of them have been completed.Comparing fingolimod administered at the approved dose of 0.5 mg to placebo, we found that the drug at 24 months increased the probability of being relapse-free (risk ratio (RR) 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.28 to 1.63); moderate quality of evidence), but it might lead to little or no difference in preventing disability progression (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.11; primary clinical endpoints; low quality evidence). Benefit was observed for other measures of inflammatory disease activity including clinical (annualised relapse rate): rate ratio 0.50, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.62; moderate quality evidence; and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) activity (gadolinium-enhancing lesions): RR of being free from (MRI) gadolinium-enhancing lesions: 1.36, 95% CI 1.27 to 1.45; low quality evidence.The mean change of MRI T2-weighted lesion load favoured fingolimod at 12 and 24 months.No significant increased risk of discontinuation due to adverse events was observed for fingolimod 0.5 mg compared to placebo at six and 24 months. The risk of fingolimod discontinuation was significantly higher compared to placebo for the dose 1.25 mg at 24 months (RR 1.93, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.52).No significant increased risk of discontinuation due to serious adverse events was observed for fingolimod 0.5 mg compared to placebo at six and 24 months. A significant increased risk of discontinuation due to serious adverse events was found for fingolimod 5.0 mg (RR 2.77, 95% CI 1.04 to 7.38) compared to placebo at six months.Comparing fingolimod 0.5 mg to intramuscular interferon beta-1a, we found moderate quality evidence that the drug at one year slightly increased the number of participants free from relapse (RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.27) or from gadolinium-enhancing lesions (RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.19), and decreased the relapse rate (rate ratio 0.48, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.70). We did not detect any advantage for preventing disability progression (RR 1.02, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.06; low quality evidence). We did not detect any significant difference for MRI T2-weighted lesion load change.We found a greater likelihood of participants discontinuing fingolimod, as compared to other DMDs, due to adverse events in the short-term (six months) (RR 3.21, 95% CI 1.16 to 8.86), but there was no significant difference versus interferon beta-1a at 12 months (RR 1.51, 95% CI 0.81 to 2.80; moderate quality evidence). A higher incidence of adverse events was suggestive of the lower tolerability rate of fingolimod compared to interferon-beta 1a.Quality of life was improved in participants after switching from a different DMD to fingolimod at six months, but this effect was not found compared to placebo at 24 months.All studies were sponsored by Novartis Pharma. Treatment with fingolimod compared to placebo in RRMS patients is effective in reducing inflammatory disease activity, but it may lead to little or no difference in preventing disability worsening. The risk of withdrawals due to adverse events requires careful monitoring of patients over time. The evidence on the risk/benefit profile of fingolimod compared with intramuscular interferon beta-1a was uncertain, based on a low number of head-to-head RCTs with short follow-up duration. The ongoing trial results will possibly satisfy these issues.

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X Demographics

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 276 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Spain 1 <1%
South Africa 1 <1%
Unknown 274 99%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 44 16%
Researcher 31 11%
Student > Bachelor 27 10%
Student > Ph. D. Student 24 9%
Other 20 7%
Other 36 13%
Unknown 94 34%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 88 32%
Nursing and Health Professions 16 6%
Neuroscience 16 6%
Social Sciences 9 3%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 8 3%
Other 32 12%
Unknown 107 39%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 16. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 February 2020.
All research outputs
#2,412,087
of 26,673,263 outputs
Outputs from Cochrane database of systematic reviews
#4,733
of 13,269 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#35,965
of 313,611 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Cochrane database of systematic reviews
#121
of 285 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 26,673,263 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 90th percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 13,269 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 35.8. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 64% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 313,611 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 88% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 285 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 57% of its contemporaries.