Drugs approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis: review of their safety profile

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorder of the brain and spinal cord characterized by inflammation, demyelination, and axonal degeneration.Area covered: Even though the pharmacological armamentarium for MS treatment is considerably improved in the last 20 years, safety data especially for the second-line and innovative treatments are lacking. In order to analyze the safety profile of drugs used for the treatment of MS, a literature review of pre-marketing, post-marketing studies and case reports was performed.Expert opinion: Nowadays, the numerous drugs approved in the last years for the treatment of MS allow a better control of the disease and a better patient compliance. The main advantages of the new disease-modifying agents for MS (DMTs), in fact, derive from the new oral administration and the prolonged half-life with consequent improvement in compliance compared to first-line therapy which required subcutaneous administrations. However, DMTs c...