An Extension Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Fingolimod (FTY720) in Patients With Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis

To ensure consistency, MRI scans were evaluated centrally at the Institute of Neurotherapeutics in Kyoto, Japan. After checking the scans for completeness and quality, all scans were analyzed by blinded readers (experienced neurologists). The number of Gd-enhanced T1 weighted MRI lesions were counted and recorded. Lesions expanding through several slices were counted as only 1 lesion.

To ensure consistency, MRI scans were evaluated centrally at the Institute of Neurotherapeutics in Kyoto, Japan. After checking the scans for completeness and quality, all scans were analyzed by blinded readers (experienced neurologists). The number of new or newly enlarged T2 weighted MRI lesions were counted and recorded. New lesions were identified by comparing each lesion with previous scans. Lesions expanding through several slices were counted as only 1 lesion.

The ARR was defined as the total number of relapses for all patients in the treatment arm / total number of days in the study for all patients in the treatment arm for the specific period of time × 365.25. General definition of relapse: Appearance of a new neurological abnormality or worsening of previously stable or improving pre-existing neurological abnormality, separated by at least 30 days from the onset of a preceding clinical demyelinating event. The abnormality must be present for at least 24 hours and occur in the absence of fever (< 37.5°C) or infection. A relapse was to be confirmed by a neurologist trained on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). A relapse must be accompanied by an increase of at least half a step (0.5) on the EDSS or an increase of 1 point on 2 different Functional Systems (FS) of the EDSS or 2 points on 1 of the FS (excluding Bowel/Bladder or Cerebral FS).

Patients who did not experience any relapses confirmed by a neurologist during the study were regarded as relapse-free patients.

Disability progression was measured by the EDSS score. A trained neurologist grades the multiple sclerosis (MS) disability of the patient on a scale of 0-5 (no to severe disability) in 8 Functional Systems (FS): Pyramidal, cerebellar, brainstem, sensory, bowel and bladder, visual, cerebral (or mental), and other. The EDSS score ranges from 0-10 (normal to dead) with higher scores indicating greater disability. A 3-month confirmed disability progression was defined as a 3-month sustained increase from baseline in the EDSS score, that is, every EDSS score obtained (scheduled or unscheduled) within 3-months after the first progression met the following progression criteria: One point (1) increase from baseline in patients with baseline EDSS score from 0 to 5.0; or half a point (0.5) increase in patients with baseline EDSS score of 5.5 or above. A 6-month confirmed disability progression was defined exactly the same except that the sustained progression had to last 6 months.

Disability progression was measured by the EDSS score. A trained neurologist grades the multiple sclerosis (MS) disability of the patient on a scale of 0-5 (no to severe disability) in 8 Functional Systems (FS): Pyramidal, cerebellar, brainstem, sensory, bowel and bladder, visual, cerebral (or mental), and other. The EDSS score ranges from 0-10 (normal to dead) with higher scores indicating greater disability. A 3-month confirmed disability progression was defined as a 3-month sustained increase from baseline in the EDSS score, that is, every EDSS score obtained (scheduled or unscheduled) within 3-months after the first progression met the following progression criteria: One point (1) increase from baseline in patients with baseline EDSS score from 0 to 5.0; or half a point (0.5) increase in patients with baseline EDSS score of 5.5 or above. A 6-month confirmed disability progression was defined exactly the same except that the sustained progression had to last 6 months.