Monash University
A recent study by Monash University has highlighted the benefit for pregnant women with MS who continue with a disease modifying treatment during and after pregnancy.
Using data from the international MSBase registry, the findings published in Neurology, revealed that women with MS who continued to take natalizumab (Tysabri) through and after their pregnancy had a decrease in relapse rates by up to 89 per cent. In contrast, women with MS who stopped taking natalizumab (Tysabri) and another therapy, fingolimod (Gilenya), before conception had an increase in relapse rates.
Led by senior research fellow Dr Vilija Jokubaitis from the department of neuroscience at Monash Central Clinical School, the study is the first to show how well the disease can be controlled through and after pregnancy if women are appropriately managed on this therapy.