Long-term Efficacy and Safety of Fingolimod (FTY720) in Patients With Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis

ARR is defined as the number of confirmed relapses in a year. A relapse is defined as the appearance of a new or worsening of a previously stable or improving pre-existing neurological abnormality, separated by at least 30 days from onset of a preceding relapse. The abnormality must be present for at least 24 hours and occur in the absence of fever or infection. The annualized ARR for each treatment group was the mean of the annualized ARRs for all patients in the group, calculated as the total number of confirmed relapses divided by the total number of days on study multiplied by 365.25.

A relapse was confirmed when it was accompanied by an increase of at least half a step (0.5) on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) or an increase of 1 point on two different Functional Systems (FS) of the EDSS or 2 points on one of the FS (excluding Bowel/Bladder or Cerebral FS). Kaplan-Meier estimates of the percentage of relapse-free patients at end of study and and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were presented for the treatment groups.

ARR is defined as the number of confirmed relapses in a year. A relapse is defined as the appearance of a new or worsening of a previously stable or improving pre-existing neurological abnormality, separated by at least 30 days from onset of a preceding relapse. The abnormality must be present for at least 24 hours and occur in the absence of fever or infection. The annualized ARR for each treatment group was the mean of the annualized ARRs for all patients in the group, calculated as the total number of confirmed relapses divided by the total number of days on study multiplied by 365.25.

ARR is defined as the number of confirmed relapses in a year. A relapse is defined as the appearance of a new or worsening of a previously stable or improving pre-existing neurological abnormality, separated by at least 30 days from onset of a preceding relapse. The abnormality must be present for at least 24 hours and occur in the absence of fever or infection. The annualized ARR for each treatment group was the mean of the annualized ARRs for all patients in the group, calculated as the total number of confirmed relapses divided by the total number of days on study multiplied by 365.25.

The number of new or newly enlarged T2 lesions was assessed with T2-weighted MRI scans. A T2-weighted MRI scan utilizes particular values of the echo time (TE) and the repetition time (TR) parameters of image acquisition. Inflammation and tissue damage are seen as bright areas in T2 images and are often referred to as T2 lesions. T2 weighted MRI scans are a sensitive way to evaluate the brain for demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.

The number of new or newly enlarged T2 lesions was assessed with T2-weighted MRI scans. A T2-weighted MRI scan utilizes particular values of the echo time (TE) and the repetition time (TR) parameters of image acquisition. Inflammation and tissue damage are seen as bright areas in T2 images and are often referred to as T2 lesions. T2 weighted MRI scans are a sensitive way to evaluate the brain for demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.

Calculations of brain volume change were performed using the structural image evaluation of normalized atrophy (SIENA), software included in the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) software library. SIENA is a fully automated method for estimating temporal brain volume change.

Calculations of brain volume change were performed using the structural image evaluation of normalized atrophy (SIENA), software included in the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) software library. SIENA is a fully automated method for estimating temporal brain volume change.

Kurtzke's Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) is a scale for assessing neurologic impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) includes a series of scores in each of eight functional systems such as Visual, Brain Stem, Pyramidal, Cerebellar, Sensory, Bowel & Bladder, Cerebral, and Other. The EDSS steps range from 0 (normal) to 10 (death due to MS). The Kaplan-Meier estimates of the percentage of participants free of disability progression at end of study and their 95% CIs were provided for each treatment group.