Bexarotene leads to durable improvements in visual evoked potential latency: A follow-up study of the Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair One trial

Christopher E McMurran; Trisha Mukherjee; J William L Brown; Alasdair J Coles; Nick G Cunniffe

doi:10.1177/13524585241233177

Bexarotene leads to durable improvements in visual evoked potential latency: A follow-up study of the Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair One trial

Mult Scler. 2024 Mar 1:13524585241233177. doi: 10.1177/13524585241233177. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Christopher E McMurran¹, Trisha Mukherjee¹, J William L Brown², Alasdair J Coles¹, Nick G Cunniffe¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
² Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge. UK/NMR Research Unit, Queen Square Multiple Sclerosis Centre, University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology, London. UK/Clinical Outcomes Research (CORe) Unit, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

PMID: 38426437
DOI: 10.1177/13524585241233177

Abstract

The Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair One (CCMR-One) trial showed that 6 months of bexarotene reduces visual evoked potential (VEP) latency in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). In a single-centre follow-up study of these participants, we re-examined full-field VEP and clinical assessments. Twenty participants (12 bexarotene and 8 placebo) were seen on average 27 months after their trial involvement. In an analysis of all eyes with recordable signal (24 bexarotene and 14 placebo), the adjusted bexarotene-placebo treatment difference in P100 latency was -7.79 (95% confidence interval (CI) = -14.76, -0.82) ms, p = 0.044. We conclude that there were durable improvements in VEP latency, suggesting long-term benefits from exposure to a remyelinating drug.

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; bexarotene; clinical trial; evoked potentials; optic neuritis; remyelination; visual.