ABSTRACT
It was 35 years after the first description of interferons as antiviral agents by Isaacs and Linden-mann in 1957[1] and 12 years after the first successful therapeutic trial of interferon for multiple sclerosis (MS)[2-4] that the first interferon (interferon beta-1b) was approved for treatment of MS in 1993.[5,6] Since that time, three different interferon beta products have been introduced in the market for treatment of relapsing-remitting MS and to some extent also secondary progressive MS in nearly all countries of the world. Interferon beta now has a key role in the management of MS patients. The available evidence on the mode of action of interferons in MS, their efficacy on clinical and laboratory measures, and current knowledge about their emerging differential indication are reviewed in this chapter.
