September 23, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Survival Much Higher for Patients Who Take DMTs as Directed: Study The likelihood of survival is about 7.5 times higher for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who take their disease-modifying treatments as directed compared with those who do not, an analysis of data from U.S. veterans shows. The study, “Impact of Adherence with Disease-Modifying Therapies on All-Cause…
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 22, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS MS Tied to Increased Risk After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis People who develop colon cancer are more likely to die in the first year, from that cancer or other causes, if they also have multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study indicates. MS disability seems to contribute to this association. “These results warrant further investigation to determine what factors may…
February 13, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MS Patients Needing Feeding Tubes May Live Longer if Given Before Age 50, Study Finds Placing a feeding tube before age 50 in multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) patients with dysphagia, or difficulties swallowing, may extent their lifeĀ by more than two years, a study suggests. These findings may help doctors and patients with decisions about feeding tube use, but more work is needed to better understand…
November 11, 2019 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc Early Damage on Brain Scans and Greater 5-Year Disability Help Predict 30-Year Outcomes in MS, Study Finds A 30-year study of outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients reports that radiological findings in the first year of disease onset, and the amount of disability evident at five years, helps to predict both the likelihood of a person advancing toĀ secondary progressive MS (SPMS) and long-term survival. The study,…
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…
December 21, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Stem Cell Transplant Lessens Disability and Relapses in RRMS Patients, Phase 2 Trial Shows Treatment withĀ autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantĀ (aHSCT) led to a sustained decrease in disability and almost no clinical relapses in patients withĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosisĀ (RRMS)Ā who had failed to respond to prior immunosuppressive therapies, an Australian Phase 2 trial shows. Trial findings were published in the study, āProspective phase…
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…
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.
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…
February 21, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Stem Cell Transplants of Greatest Benefit to RMS Patients at Earlier Disease Stages, Study Says Stem cell transplants are most effectiveĀ if doneĀ in young multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in early disease stages, who have not gone through several rounds of other treatments, according to a large study that followed transplant patients for more than five years. Study results alsoĀ found that people with relapsing MS are much…
November 28, 2016 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD Palliative Care Helps Improve Life Quality, Ease Pain of Anyone with Serious Illness Palliative care helps to ease the symptoms ofĀ serious illnesses, providing peopleĀ with cancer and thoseĀ withĀ otherĀ life-altering diseases, likeĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) or cystic fibrosis,Ā a better quality of life, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In the study, āAssociation Between Palliative Care And Patient…