Key words: multiple sclerosis (MS); dimethyl fumarate; autoimmune disease; MS therapy

"Immune regulation by mimethyl fumarate (DMF) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients"

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that is caused when the patient’s own immune cells attack the central nervous system, i.e. an autoimmune disease. The disease has a prevalence of 1-2.5 million people worldwide, but there is no known cure. Dimethyl fumurate (DMF), also known as Tecfidera®, is an oral therapy for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). However, how DMF works in RRMS patients is not fully understood. 

The main goal of this study is to explore the effects of DMF treatment on the immune cells, as well as on their functionality. This study has provided valuable evidence on the effect of DMF on the immune system in MS and may contribute to revealing an underlying mechanism for the beneficial effects of the therapy which have been demonstrated by phase III trials.

Funded by Biogen Nederland