Metabolic and safety issues for multiple sclerosis pharmacotherapy – opportunities for personalised medicine

INTRODUCTION: A number of disease-modifying therapies have become available to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) in recent years. As the effects of these medications are unpredictable and they are generally used for a number of years, the selection of the most appropriate disease-modifying agent must be based on the long-term efficacy and toxicity profile, thus strategies to personalise treatment to optimise responses may be potentially very useful. AREAS COVERED: This review provides an overview of the efficacy and toxicity of disease-modifying agents used in MS and specifically discusses any metabolic side effects and advances in personalising the use of each of these agents. Medline and EMBASE were searched for any articles regarding the efficacy, toxicity and personalised use of the medicines discussed in this review. EXPERT OPINION: Disease-modifying agents used to treat MS differ substantially in their efficacy and toxicity profile, but metabolic side effects appear to be limited to alemtuzumab, teriflunomide and IFN-β. Although personalised treatment strategies to assist in selection of the most appropriate disease-modifying agent for MS are limited, there is substantial potential to use genetic sub-studies of the many recent trials investigating disease-modifying agents to develop personalised treatment strategies.