Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41635596›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in neurology2025

The effects of fampridine on MS-related fatigue: a systematic review.

Mohsen Rastkar, Christian Cordano, Mahsa Ghajarzadeh, Bardia Nourbakhsh

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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.

Mohsen RastkarStudent's Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Christian CordanoUCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
Mahsa GhajarzadehDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Bardia NourbakhshDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Slow-release 4-aminopyridine (fampridine) has been shown to improve walking function in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Its effect on other MS symptoms, such as fatigue, remains controversial. We performed this systematic review to summarize the evidence of the effect of fampridine on fatigue in patients with MS. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, google scholar, and ProQuest were searched for randomized trials or observational studies reporting fatigue scores before and after the treatment with fampridine. We summarized the findings of all relevant reports. Results: A literature search revealed 2,675 records; after removing duplicates, we had 1,504 records. Ninety-seven full texts were evaluated, and finally, 33 studies remained for systematic review. Most studies were done in USA, France, Germany, and Italy. The participants' age and the duration of studies ranged between 39 and 54 years and 2 and 48 weeks, respectively. Out of 20 non-randomized or observational studies, 19 reported a benefit of fampridine in improving MS fatigue; however, only three out of 13 randomized, placebo-controlled studies showed that fampridine improved fatigue better than a placebo. Conclusion: Overwhelmingly positive results of fampridine on fatigue reported in non-randomized and observational studies are compatible with the placebo-responsiveness of fatigue in MS. Randomized, placebo-controlled studies have provided inconsistent results on the effects of fampridine on MS fatigue. Although it is possible that fatigue, at least in a subgroup of people with MS, might respond to fampridine, high-quality, placebo-controlled, blinded, randomized trials are needed to show the efficacy of this medication in improving MS fatigue.

Indexed as

dalfampridinefampridinefatiguemultiple sclerosissystematic review

Identifiers

PMID41635596
PMCPMC12862937

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.