Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18775064›Full record

ArticleHealth and quality of life outcomes2008

Effects of glatiramer acetate on fatigue and days of absence from work in first-time treated relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Tjalf Ziemssen, Josef Hoffman, Rainer Apfel, Simone Kern

Open access · goldAbstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Health and quality of life outcomes, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.8field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Glatiramer acetate for multiple sclerosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2010
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. Multiple sclerosis-related fatigue lacks a unified definition: A narrative review.Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences · 2022
    Review
  6. Mechanism and adverse effects of multiple sclerosis drugs: a review article. Part 2.International journal of physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology · 2019
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Observational
  11. Review
  12. Observational
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  15. Observational
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Tjalf ZiemssenMS Center, Neurological University Clinic, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany. Tjalf.Ziemssen@uniklinikum-dresden.de
Josef Hoffman
Rainer Apfel
Simone Kern
TU Dresden · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTreatment of multiple sclerosis patients with glatiramer acetate has been demonstrated a beneficial effect on disease activity. The objective of this prospective naturalistic study was to evaluate the impact of glatiramer acetate on fatigue and work absenteeism.

methods291 treatment-naïve patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis were included and treated with glatiramer acetate for twelve months. Relapse rates, disability, fatigue symptoms, days of absence from work and adverse events were monitored. Fatigue was measured with the MFIS scale and with a visual analogue scale.

resultsTotal MFIS scores decreased by 7.6 +/- 16.4 from 34.6 to 27.0 (p < or = 0.001). Significant reductions were observed on all three subscales of the MFIS. Fatigue symptoms, assessed using a visual analogue scale, decreased by 1.04 +/- 2.88 cm from 4.47 cm to 3.43 cm (p < or = 0.001). The proportion of patients absent from work at least once was reduced by a factor of two from 65.1% to 30.1% (p < or = 0.001). Tolerance to treatment was rated as very good or good in 78.3% of patients. Adverse effects, most frequently local injection site reactions, were reported in 15.1% of patients.

conclusionTreatment with glatiramer acetate was associated with a significant improvement in fatigue symptoms and a marked reduction in absence from work. Treatment was well-tolerated. Such benefits are of relevance to overall patient well-being.

Indexed as

AbsenteeismAdultDisability EvaluationFatigueFemaleGermanyGlatiramer AcetateHumansImmunosuppressive AgentsMaleMultiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-RemittingObservationPeptidesProspective StudiesSickness Impact ProfileSurveys and QuestionnairesGlatiramer AcetateImmunosuppressive AgentsPeptides

Identifiers

PMID18775064
PMCPMC2542355
OpenAlexW2127288761

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.