Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33996142›Full record

ArticleMultiple sclerosis journal - experimental, translational and clinical

Effectiveness and safety of dimethyl fumarate in progressive multiple sclerosis.

Vanessa F Moreira Ferreira, Yanqing Liu, Brian C Healy, James M Stankiewicz

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Multiple sclerosis journal - experimental, translational and clinical. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 34% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The relative risk of infection in people with multiple sclerosis using disease-modifying treatment: a systematic review of observational studies.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
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.

Vanessa F Moreira FerreiraDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brigham MS Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4170-6731
Yanqing LiuDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brigham MS Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Brian C HealyDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brigham MS Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
James M StankiewiczDepartment of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brigham MS Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Brigham and Women's Hospital · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is limited data analyzing the safety and effectiveness of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) in the progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS) population.

objectiveTo analyze the safety and effectiveness of DMF in patients with PMS.

methodsWe used Cox proportional hazards models to compare the time to confirmed worsening and improvement on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and timed 25-foot walk (T25FW) between patients treated with DMF and glatiramer acetate (GA) for at least one year.

resultsWe included 46 patients treated with DMF and 42 patients treated with GA. The safety and tolerability of GA and DMF were consistent with established profiles. There was no difference in confirmed EDSS progression. A trend towards reduced T25FW was seen in the DMF compared to GA after adjustment (HR = 0.86; 95% CI:0.37, 1.98; p = 0.72 and HR = 0.60; 95% CI:0.27, 1.34; p = 0.21, respectively).

conclusionDimethyl fumarate showed a trend towards reduction in T25FW but no evidence of clinically significant impact on EDSS. The small sample precluded definitive determination.

Indexed as

dimethyl fumaratedisease-modifying therapiesglatiramer acetateMultiple sclerosisprimary progressive multiple sclerosissecondary progressive multiple sclerosis

Identifiers

PMID33996142
PMCPMC8108088
OpenAlexW3157956392

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.