Safety and Efficacy of Fingolimod Compared to Placebo in the Treatment of Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Study

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that involves an individual's central nervous system and can affect many aspects of his/her life. This study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of fingolimod compared to placebo in the treatment of relapsing MS.

A detailed research was carried out on Medline, Web of Sciences, the Cochran Library, Embase, and Scopus databases within January-December 2020. The studies were evaluated regarding the effectiveness of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the safety of complications. A random model with a 95% confidence interval was used for data analysis. To evaluate the heterogeneity of the studies I2 test was used in this research. The Cochrane risk of bias tool checklist was applied to assess the quality of the study methodology.

The results indicated that in 3 and 1 studies fingolimod was used at a dose of 1.25 and 0.5 mg, respectively. Based on the findings, the use of fingolimod at a dose of 0.59 mg was effective in improving patients. The patients receiving fingolimod 1.25 mg were more likely to have lymphopenia than patients taking placebo.

Finally, the findings of this study showed that the use of fingolimod was effective on the EDSS index, compared to placebo. Doctors can use this drug to improve EDSS and the quality of life of patients.