b"Medicine & ResearchDoctors NotesThe MS News column includes analysis from Ben Thrower, M.D., MS Focus senior medical advisor. He draws from the top news stories of the quarter and explains what the news means to you, the person with MS. Christine Willis, MLIS, AHIP, is the Clinical Information Librarian at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Egleston Hospital.Regular monitoring keyThe authors of this case series report patients with fumarate drugsdevelopingalowlymphocytecountwhen Researchers from Vanderbilt Universityswitched from dimethyl fumarate to diroximel studied four patients, all female between thefumarate. At our MS Center, we have seen the ages of 44 and 53, with relapsing multiplesame phenomenon. The takeaway message sclerosis, who showed stable lymphocyte levelsis that regular blood monitoring is important whileondimethylfumaratetreatmentforwith the fumarate class of drugs. This would more than a year. Upon switching to diroximelinclude at least a CBC and liver function studies fumarate,theyexperiencedsignificanttwice yearly. If you have been switched from lymphopenia. This suggests a potential riskdimethyl fumarate to diroximel fumarate, it when transitioning between fumaric acids,may be worth getting labs done within three emphasizing the necessity for further investigationmonths of the switch. intothephenomenon.ThendingswereStudy: Patients nd AI more published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal. empathetic than neurologistsThrower -The fumarates are an importantResearchers from Italy and the UK conducted class of MS disease-modifying therapies. Thisa study comparing responses to MS patients' class includes Tecdera (dimethyl fumarate),questions from ChatGPT, an AI, and neurologists. generic dimethyl fumarate, Vumerity (diroximelMore than 1,100 MS patients participated, rating fumarate),andBafiertam(monomethylempathy and satisfaction. ChatGPT's responses fumarate). As generic versions or modiedscored higher in empathy than neurologists'. versions of name brand drugs are developed,Satisfaction levels didn't differ signicantly. people living with MS are sometimes forcedInterestingly, college graduates were less likely to make switches. This has been the case withto prefer ChatGPT. The study suggests AI, such fumarates.Interestingly,allMSfumarateas ChatGPT, can offer empathetic support in drugs are metabolized to the active ingredient, monomethyl fumarate. With dimethyl fumarate,healthcare, complementing rather than replacing a methyl group is removed in the intestines andhuman interaction. As digitalization grows, then the monomethyl fumarate is absorbed.physicians need to adapt to AI's role in patient Withdiroximelfumarate,2-hydroxyethylcare and ensure responsible usage. Future AI succinimide is removed in the gut. That anddevelopment should consider tailoring responses monomethyl fumarate are absorbed into theto individual needs. The results were published bloodstream.in the Journal of Neurology. msfocusmagazine.org 48"