A multicenter, observational, prospective study of self- and parent-reported quality of life in adolescent multiple sclerosis patients self-administering interferon-β1a using RebiSmart™—the FUTURE study

Besides the impact of disease per se, the use of immunomodulatory therapies in adolescents with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) may have an effect on quality of life (QL). The FUTURE (Quality of liFe in adolescent sUbjecTs affected by mUltiple sclerosis treated with immunomodulatoRy agEnt using self-injecting device) study was designed to evaluate the changes in QL of Italian adolescents with RRMS receiving treatment with IFN-β1a (Rebif; 22 μg), administered subcutaneously three times weekly using the RebiSmart™ electronic autoinjection device over a 52-week period. Fifty adolescents with RRMS were enrolled and 40 completed the study. Changes from baseline to end of treatment (EoT) in adolescent self-reported and parent-reported QL were assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (PedsQL), which has been validated for use in pediatric MS and for which an Italian version is available. The adolescent self-reported total PedsQL4.0 score and all of its subscales tended to increase from baseline to EoT, the only exception being “Emotional functioning.” In parent-reported measures, the total PedsQL4.0 score increased significantly from baseline to EoT (+ 5.27 points, p = 0.041). Significant increases were also evident for parent-reported “Psychosocial health summary score” (+ 5.90 points; p = 0.015) and “School functioning” (+ 7.84 points; p = 0.029). Our results indicate that adolescents with RRMS using the electronic injection device RebiSmart™ for self-administration of Rebif® can experience long-term improvements in QL.