SynthesisPloS one2016
The Effect of Disease-Modifying Drugs on Brain Atrophy in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety and efficacy of oral cladribine in relapsing multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Brain volume loss in relapsing multiple sclerosis: indirect treatment comparisons of available disease-modifying therapies.BMC neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Treatment Effects in Randomized and Nonrandomized Studies of Pharmacological Interventions: A Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- A Critical Systematic Review of Current Evidence on the Effects of Physical Exercise on Whole/Regional Grey Matter Brain Volume in Populations at Risk of Neurodegeneration.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Pooled it
- Twelve Weeks of Intermittent Caloric Restriction Diet Mitigates Neuroinflammation in Midlife Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study with Implications for Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Trial
- Impact of aerobic exercise on clinical and magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers in persons with multiple sclerosis: An exploratory randomized controlled trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2021Trial
- Selective Brain Network and Cellular Responses Upon Dimethyl Fumarate Immunomodulation in Multiple Sclerosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Trial
- The effect of disease-modifying therapies on brain volume loss and disability accumulation in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Neuroprotective strategies in multiple sclerosis: a status update and emerging paradigms.Expert review of neurotherapeutics · 2025Review
- Grey matter atrophy in patients with benign multiple sclerosis.Brain and behavior · 2022Article
- Brain Volume Loss Can Occur at the Rate of Normal Aging in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Who Are Free from Disease Activity.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Longitudinal analysis of T1w/T2w ratio in patients with multiple sclerosis from first clinical presentation.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2021Article
- MAGNIMS consensus recommendations on the use of brain and spinal cord atrophy measures in clinical practice.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2020Review
- Detecting neurodegenerative pathology in multiple sclerosis before irreversible brain tissue loss sets in.Translational neurodegeneration · 2019Review
- Article
- Comparing longitudinal brain atrophy measurement techniques in a real-world multiple sclerosis clinical practice cohort: towards clinical integration?Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2019Article
- Brain Atrophy Is Associated with Disability Progression in Patients with MS followed in a Clinical Routine.AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology · 2018Article
- Estriol-mediated neuroprotection in multiple sclerosis localized by voxel-based morphometry.Brain and behavior · 2018Article
- Future Brain and Spinal Cord Volumetric Imaging in the Clinic for Monitoring Treatment Response in MS.Current treatment options in neurology · 2018Review
- The Effect of Disease Modifying Therapies on Disability Progression in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Overview of Meta-Analyses.Frontiers in neurology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe quantification of brain atrophy in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) may serve as a marker of disease progression and treatment response. We compared the association between first-line (FL) or second-line (SL) disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) and brain volume changes over time in RRMS. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe reviewed clinical trials in RRMS between January 1, 1995 and June 1, 2014 that assessed the effect of DMDs and reported data on brain atrophy in Medline, Embase, the Cochrane database and meeting abstracts. First, we designed a meta-analysis to directly compare the percentage brain volume change (PBVC) between FLDMDs and SLDMDs at 24 months. Second, we conducted an observational and longitudinal linear regression analysis of a 48-month follow-up period. Sensitivity analyses considering PBVC between 12 and 48 months were also performed.
resultsAmong the 272 studies identified, 117 were analyzed and 35 (18,140 patients) were included in the analysis. Based on the meta-analysis, atrophy was greater for the use of an FLDMD than that of an SLDMD at 24 months (primary endpoint mean difference, -0.86; 95% confidence interval: -1.57--0.15; P = 0.02). Based on the linear regression analysis, the annual PBVC significantly differed between SLDMDs and placebo (-0.27%/y and -0.50%/y, respectively, P = 0.046) but not between FLDMDs (-0.33%/y) and placebo (P = 0.11) or between FLDMDs and SLDMDs (P = 0.49). Based on sensitivity analysis, the annual PBVC was reduced for SLDMDs compared with placebo (-0.14%/y and -0.56%/y, respectively, P<0.001) and FLDMDs (-0.46%/y, P<0.005), but no difference was detected between FLDMDs and placebo (P = 0.12).
conclusionsSLDMDs were associated with reduced PBVC slope over time in RRMS, regardless of the period considered. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying atrophy progression in RRMS.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.