[Recommendations for optimising the treatment of multiple sclerosis in Latin America]. / Recomendaciones para la optimización del tratamiento de la esclerosis múltiple en Latinoamérica.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common primary demyelinating disease affecting the central nervous system. In recent years the development of new drugs that have been shown to modify the natural history of MS have had a substantial impact on the treatment of the disease. AIMS: To harmonise and integrate the evidence available on optimising the treatment of patients with MS. DEVELOPMENT: In order to fulfil our main aim, a group of experts from different Latin American countries drew up a list of statements related to the use of immunomodulatory agents in the different clinical forms of the disease and the strategies that should be considered in cases in which the therapeutic response was suboptimal. Each of the participants used a structured scale to express the extent to which he or she agreed or disagreed, and a consensus was considered to have been reached when acceptance of each of the statements was equal to or higher than 80%. CONCLUSIONS: These recommendations will provide neurologists with the tools needed to make decisions that optimise the treatment of MS patients.

Recomendaciones para la optimización del tratamiento de la esclerosis múltiple en Latinoamérica / Recommendations for optimising the treatment of multiple sclerosis in Latin America

Introducción. La esclerosis múltiple (EM) es la enfermedad desmielinizante primaria más común que afecta al sistema nervioso central. Durante los últimos años ha impactado sustancialmente en el tratamiento de la EM el desarrollo de nuevos fármacos que han demostrado modificar la evolución natural de la enfermedad. Objetivo. Armonizar e integrar la evidencia disponible en la actualidad respecto a la optimización del tratamiento de los pacientes con EM. Desarrollo. A fin de cumplir con el objetivo propuesto, un grupo de expertos pertenecientes a diferentes países de Latinoamérica confeccionó una lista de enunciados relacionados con el uso de agentes inmunomoduladores en las distintas formas clínicas de la enfermedad y las estrategias que se deben considerar en aquellos casos en los que la respuesta terapéutica fuera subóptima. Utilizando una escala estructurada, cada uno de los participantes expresó su grado de acuerdo o desacuerdo, pudiendo alcanzarse un consenso cuando la aceptación para cada uno de los enunciados era igual o mayor al 80%. Conclusión. Estas recomendaciones proporcionarán al médico neurólogo las herramientas necesarias para la toma de decisiones que optimicen el tratamiento de los pacientes con EM

Introduction. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common primary demyelinating disease affecting the central nervous system. In recent years the development of new drugs that have been shown to modify the natural history of MS have had a substantial impact on the treatment of the disease. Aims. To harmonise and integrate the evidence available on optimising the treatment of patients with MS. Development. In order to fulfil our main aim, a group of experts from different Latin American countries drew up a list of statements related to the use of immunomodulatory agents in the different clinical forms of the disease and the strategies that should be considered in cases in which the therapeutic response was suboptimal. Each of the participants used a structured scale to express the extent to which he or she agreed or disagreed, and a consensus was considered to have been reached when acceptance of each of the statements was equal to or higher than 80%. Conclusions. These recommendations will provide neurologists with the tools needed to make decisions that optimise the treatment of MS patients