Disease stability over five years in people with multiple sclerosis treated with cladribine tablets: a plain language summary.

WHAT IS THIS SUMMARY ABOUT?: This is a summary of an article originally published in the journal . Cladribine tablets are approved for treating people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (shortened to MS). People with MS take cladribine tablets for 2 periods of 4 to 5 days per year. This analysis looks at the results from 2 studies called the CLARITY and CLARITY Extension studies. These studies looked at what effect a 2-year course of treatment with cladribine tablets had on disability over 5 years in people with MS.

HOW WAS THE ANALYSIS CARRIED OUT?: In this analysis, researchers measured disability worsening at regular intervals during the 2-year treatment period in the CLARITY study and thereafter in the 2-year CLARITY Extension study. As many patients had a bridging interval between CLARITY and CLARITY extension, the researchers were able to assess disability over a 5-year timeframe.

WHAT WERE THE RESULTS?: When measurements were taken at Year 5 of the study, disability remained stable in more than half of participants. Over the 5-year period, 70% of participants did not experience persistent disease worsening that lasted more than 6 months.

WHAT DO THE RESULTS MEAN?: Researchers concluded that a 2-year course of cladribine tablets may provide long-term benefits on disability for up to 5 years. : NCT00213135 (ClinicalTrials.gov) : NCT00641537 (ClinicalTrials.gov).