Guide To The Best Multiple Sclerosis Medications

Diroximel Fumarate

Diroximel fumarate is appropriate for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis. It can also help with clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and secondary progressive disease. Blood tests are necessary before treatment with this medicine. Doctors will need to know if the patient has infections, kidney issues, liver issues, or a low white blood cell count. When taking this drug, patients must swallow the capsule whole. They should never crush or open it. Some individuals may want to take this medication with food. In this case, it is best to take it with a meal that has no more than seven hundred calories. In addition, the meal should not contain more than thirty grams of fat.

Indigestion, diarrhea, skin rashes, nausea, vomiting, flushing, and stomach pain are common side effects of diroximel fumarate. Patients should avoid meals that are high in calories or fat to reduce these side effects. In rare cases, this medicine can cause a dangerous infection in the brain. Patients should contact their doctor right away if they develop problems with thinking, movement, speech, or vision. These problems could worsen very rapidly.

Ocrelizumab

Ocrelizumab is given as an intravenous infusion. It helps treat primary multiple sclerosis and relapsing forms of the condition. This medication is a monoclonal antibody, and it targets specific lymphocytes that cause nerve damage. The first dose is given as two infusions that are fourteen days apart. After the initial dose, patients usually have one infusion every six months. Each infusion takes two and a half hours. Patients who have an active hepatitis B infection should not use ocrelizumab.

Infusion reactions are among the most commonly reported side effects of this medicine. After the infusion, patients are monitored for at least one hour in case they experience a reaction. Symptoms of infusion reactions may include dizziness, fast heart rate, fever, shortness of breath, hives, breathing difficulties, and coughing. Patients must alert their doctor if they notice any of these symptoms. This medication increases the risk of developing upper and lower respiratory tract infections, herpes, and skin infections. Finally, this drug weakens the immune system. It may cause a reactivation of hepatitis B in patients who have had the virus.