Neurology. 2004 Feb 24;62(4):628-31
Tremlett HL, Yoshida EM, Oger J.
Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, Vancouver Hospital &
Health Sciences Center, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC,
Canada
A population-based retrospective chart review of the biochemical liver tests of 844 patients with multiple sclerosis prescribed a beta-interferon (IFNbeta) product in British Columbia, Canada was performed between 1995 and 2001.
Overall, 36.9% (243/659) of patients developed new elevations of alanine aminotransferase.
All the IFNbetas caused elevated aminotransferase levels compared with pretreatment levels (p < 0.005) and were higher than reported in clinical trials.
Their relative effect on aminotransferases can be approximated as IFNbeta-1b(subcutaneous [SC]) = IFNbeta-1a(SC) > IFNbeta-1a(IM).