July 11, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Sepsis in MS Is Linked to Longer Hospital Stays, Higher Costs Sepsis, a life-threatening response to an infection that can result in tissue damage and organ failure, was reported in nearly one-third of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), a Texas study found. This condition was linked to longer hospital stays, higher costs, and a…
January 13, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD MS Type, Anti-CD20 Therapies Tied to Higher COVID-19 Mortality Risk Among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a progressive disease type and the use of anti-CD20 therapies ā such as ocrelizumab and rituximab ā were associated with an increased risk of death from COVID-19, a new meta-analysis revealed. āWe hope that these findings ā¦ may help neurologists in optimizing…
January 12, 2022 News by Yedida Y Bogachkov PhD Cognitive Dysfunction Found to Increase Risk of Death in MS Cognitive dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is predictive of worse outcomes, including clinical progression of the disease and a higher risk of mortality, according to a new study. “This review revealed that cognitive dysfunction … was associated with higher odds of transitioning from [a] relapsingāremitting course to…
September 14, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Depression Greatly Raises Patients’ Risk of Vascular Disease, Death Depression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients greatly raises their risk ofĀ vascular disease and death by any cause, a study that compared this patient group with other patients and a matched public reported. Its researchers recommended further work to determine “whether effectively treating depression” might lower these risks for these…
August 2, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Risk of Severe COVID-19 Not Raised by Immunosuppressive DMTs Exposure to multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), and particularly immunosuppressive DMTs, does not increase the risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19, or of dying from the disease, when adjusting for known risk factors, an Austrian registry-based study found. These findings add to data showing no…
December 1, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MS Patients at Higher Risk of Bladder Cancer, But Not Breast, Colorectal Cancer People with multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) are at a higher risk of developing and dying from bladder cancer than people without the neurodegenerative disorder, according to a Canadian population-based study. However, no differences were found between MS patients and unaffected individuals in terms of their risk of breast and…
May 21, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Higher Risk of Vascular Disease Among MS Patients in the UK, Population-based Study Reveals People in the United Kingdom (U.K.) with multiple sclerosis (MS) have an increased risk of vascular disease affecting the heart and brain that is not accounted for by traditional disease risk factors, a large, population-based study reports.Ā The study, āEvaluating the Risk of Macrovascular Events and…
August 26, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Link Between Lemtrada, Mortality More Common Than Previously Reported Treatment with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) is associated with the death of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) more often than previously reported and appears to be most common during the first month, according to a European review. The study, āAdverse events with fatal outcome associated…
March 20, 2019 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Beta-interferons Extend Survival of Relapsing MS Patients, Study Reports Treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) with beta-interferon therapies is associated with extended patient survival, particularly if taking such treatments for more than three years, according to a real-world study in Canada and France. The study, āMultiple sclerosis: effect of beta interferon treatment on survival,ā was…
November 6, 2018 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson When the Sun Sets ā Chronic Illness, Advocacy, and Mortality Life. Itās fragile, fleeting, beautiful, and heartbreaking. It is the most precious gift we have. Approximately one month ago, the senior columns editor for BioNewsĀ Services received her wings. Her name was Serena. Ironically, I never met Serena. We communicated only online. As I think about my journey thus…
October 11, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #ECTRIMS2018 ā Infections, Severe Disability Complications More Likely Causes of Death in MS Patients, Study Shows Infections and complications from severe disability are the greatest contributors to mortality amongĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a population-based study in British Columbia, Canada, which also found that that MS is a more common underlying cause of death among younger patients. The study, āCauses that…
October 11, 2018 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD #ECTRIMS2018 – Lower Mortality Rate in US, Sweden for MS Patients Treated With Rituximab, Study Reports Treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with rituximab leads to lower-than-reported mortality rates, according to a large real-world study in the U.S. and Sweden. The findings also revealed no deaths due to infusion reactions or to systemic inflammation. The study, āMortality rates in large US and…
April 18, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc #AAN2018 ā Early Treatment Delays MS Disease Progression But Does Not Affect Death Rate, Study Suggests Beginning treatment early with disease-modifying therapies is the most effective approach to prevent multiple sclerosis (MS) progression in patients, a large-scale study suggests. Data from the Danish study will be presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), taking place April 21-27…
January 23, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Non-Hispanic Women Have Highest MS Mortality Rates, But Blacks Die Earlier, USC Survey Finds Non-Hispanic whites, especially females, are more likely to die from multiple sclerosis (MS) than any other racial group, though blacks tend to die earlier, concludes a study by researchers at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. Their survey, āMultiple Sclerosis Mortality by Race/ Ethnicity, Age, Sex,…
January 18, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski What We Can Learn from Longevity’s Link to Quality of Life Quality of life. These three words conjure different images for people, depending on their needs. Quality of life could mean having improved health, good relationships with others, and stress-free life. In the world of medical research, quality of life (QoL), is an endpoint result that is often understudied…
October 27, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #MSParis2017 ā Beta-Interferon Therapies May Increase Survival of MS Patients, Study Suggests Long-term exposure of at least three years of beta-interferon therapies such as Rebif or AvonexĀ may increase the survival of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a population-based study suggests. The study reporting the findings, titled āBeta-interferon and mortality in multiple sclerosis: a population-based international study,ā was presented Friday at the ongoingĀ ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting…
August 21, 2017 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc MS-related Death Rate in British Military Is Much Higher Than in Other Professions, Study Finds British military personnel are at significantly higher risk of dying from multiple sclerosis than people in other occupations, a study reports. University of Southampton researchers had done a previous study of mortality rates by occupation by checking records of residents of England and Wales. They noticed that the death rate among MS patients in the armed forces was much higher than that of people in other professions over three successive decades. MS has a genetic component but is also influenced by environmental factors, including vitamin D deficiency, smoking and certain viruses. Researchers wanted to learn why so many military people die of MS, and the causes. The team looked at the death records of men aged 20-74 between 1979 and 2010. They compared military people's MS-related mortality rates and death rates from all motor neuron diseases with those of other occupations. They also compared rates across social classes, which in the military presumably means lower-ranking enlisted people, higher-ranking enlisted people, and officers. They discovered that the MS-related mortality rate among military people was significantly higher than in other professions. The death rate from MS was also significantly higher than the rate from all motor neuron diseases in the armed forces. Interestingly, military people did not have a higher MS-related death rate when the team divided those in the study into three social classes or when they compared the armed forces mortality rate to those of similar occupations, such as police and fire services. The consistency of the findings, together with the high statistical significance observed, indicated that the results were not due to simple chance or a problem with the study method, the team said. They speculated that the higher military death rate could stem from the close proximity in which military personnel live and work, which could facilitate the transmission of infections that have the potential to cause MS. The results conflicted with those of a study that analyzed hospital admissions due to MS in a population of former military personnel. It reported no increased incidence of MS-related admissions in former military people, compared with non-military controls. Since such cohort studies are less prone to bias, the Southampton team called for more research on the topic.
July 13, 2017 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD Health Questionnaires Can Help to Predict ‘Hard Outcomes’ Like Survival in MS Patients, Study Says Patient questionnaires can be sensitive to signs of disease progression and worsening in neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis just as they are in other diseases, helping doctors to better predict clinical outcomes in patients, a study reports. Particularly, the study found that MS patients with higher scores on a specific disease questionnaire were nearly six times more likely to die within 10 years than those with lower scores, and that mortality risk also jumped among people whose scores rose on a second taking of same questionnaire. But the researchers cautioned that their study was not a tool for predicting mortality but a way to help patients be more active participants in their care. āOur research shows that by answering a set series of questions, patients can have an important role in predicting long-term prognosis in diseases like MS, and that these types of questionnaire should be used by doctors to get a better idea of the patientās health,ā Joel Raffel, studyās first author, from the Imperial College London, United Kingdom, said in a university news release written by Ryan O'Hare. āWe hope that using patient-reported outcomes like these more and more will mean a shift towards empowering patients," he added. "They will be able to provide their own data, so rather than the doctor telling the patient how they are doing, itās the other way around.ā Among tools often used in the clinic are patient-reported outcomes; that is, questionnaires for patients that focus on their disease and treatment. But while these questionnaires have many uses, from screening for symptoms or evaluating treatment response to improving communications, they are often under-utilized when people have MS or other neurological diseases, "in part because it is not clear if PROs [patient-reported outcomes] relate to āhard clinical outcomesā like disability or mortality," the team noted. Researchers wanted to determine whether the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scaleā29 (MSIS-29) ā a 29-question survey assessing quality of life and disease impact over the previous two weeks ā might serve as a way of predicting a patient's risk of death. The questionnaire was completed by 2,126 people, registered with the MS Society Tissue Bank in the U.K., beginning in 2004. Of these, 872 patients repeated it one year later. By 2014, the researchers reported that 264 of the original group of MS patients (12.4%) had died, and an evaluation revealed that MSIS-29 scores were associated with 10-year mortality risk regardless of age, gender, and disability score at the time the questionnaire was completed. Indeed, patients with high scores on the MSIS-29 questionnaire, indicative of a poor quality of life, were 5.7 times more likely to die within 10 years than those whose scores were lower. The mortality risk rose further among people whose MSIS-29 score worsened between the first and second year of answering the questionnaire. āIdeally, these questionnaires should be administered routinely, once a year in the clinic or online,ā Raffel said. āThis could help doctors to understand what issues the patients are facing and could also help to answer big research questions around prognosis and which of the available treatments we have for MS are working.ā The team believes that questionnaire responses, together with usual clinical assessment tools like imaging data through MRI scans, could help doctors and patients choose the best course of treatment.
June 29, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Poor Caregiver Mental Health Might Shorten Lifespan of MS Patients Under Their Care The stress of caring for a family member with multiple sclerosis (MS) or another neurodegenerative disease may directly affect the quality of care, according to a study showing that poor caregiver mental health causesĀ higher mortality rates among the patients they care for. The study, published in the journal Proceedings…
April 18, 2017 News by Jose Marques Lopes, PhD Norwegian Researchers Analyze MS Life Expectancy, Survival and Mortality in 60-year Longitudinal Study A 60-year longitudinal multiple sclerosis (MS) study in a Norwegian cohort analyzing life expectancy, survival and mortality concluded that MS patients live shorter lives and have higher mortality than the general population. The report, āSurvival and cause of death in multiple sclerosis: a 60-year longitudinal population study,ā…
February 27, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD #ACTRIMS2017 – 60-year Follow-up Study of MS Patients Looked at Risks, Causes of Death A 60-year follow-up study of nearly 1,400 Norwegian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) analyzed their survival and risk of dying starting with theĀ onset of the disease through its progression. The study, āA 60- year follow-up on survival and cause of death in multiple sclerosis in Western Norway,ā was recently…
June 14, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Aggressive Stem Cell Transplant Approach Halts MS for Years, But Risks are High Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) has been used to stop autoimmune processes in multiple sclerosis (MS), althoughĀ the treatment is not effectiveĀ for every person. Now, an improved version of the technique is showing astonishingly good results, with patients free ofĀ both the need for treatment and the risk of relapses for…
September 10, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Mortality and Comorbidity Rates Found Higher in MS Patients, Study Finds A recently published study in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related DisordersĀ found notably higher mortality and comorbidity rates among patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to those without the disease. While past studies have reported similar observations, much remains to be understood about MS patients’ risk…
July 20, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Study on French MS Population Reveals Long Disease Duration is Associated with Higher Mortality A study recently published in the journal PLoS One revealed an excess mortality rate among French patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) that experience the disease for more than 20 years. The study was conducted by researchers at several institutes and hospitals in France, and is entitled ā…
May 29, 2015 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Patient Lifespan, Comorbidities Studied in New Research Researchers at the University of Manitoba in Canada recently conducted a study that explored the differences in lifespan and comorbidities in patients with multiple sclerosis compared to healthy individuals. The study was recently published in the journal Neurology and is entitled āEffect of comorbidity…