Two methods were used to estimate the long-term impact of disease-modifying drug therapy (DMDT) in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) who completed a placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of interferon beta-1a (IFNbeta-1a). The study cohort consisted of patients with ambulatory relapsing MS who had previously participated in a placebo-controlled clinical trial for two years...

OBJECTIVES To characterize the cognitive abilities of patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) compared with healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, sex, and education level while considering the different characteristics of PPMS and RRMS and to compare the cognitive patterns of these types of multiple sclerosis. METHODS For...

OBJECTIVES Quantitative measurement of lesion load on proton density or T2 weighted brain MRI in multiple sclerosis is a widely used marker of disease progression in treatment trials and natural history studies. However, it has proved difficult to obtain highly reproducible measurements. Several factors account for this, one of which is uncertainties in lesion identification, particularly very ...

The relationship between performance on information processing efficiency measures and MRI-derived lesion volume including global and regional T2 and T1 lesion volumes was investigated in 20 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Processing speed, as measured by the Sternberg Memory Scanning Test, was significantly correl...

BACKGROUND Clinical trials established the efficacy and safety of natalizumab. Data are needed over longer periods of time and in the clinical practice setting. OBJECTIVE To evaluate long-term safety of natalizumab and its impact on annualised relapse rate and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). METHODS The Tysa...

BACKGROUND Multiple sclerosis patients who discontinue using natalizumab are at risk of a rebound in disease activity. However, the optimal alternative therapy is not currently known. AIMS OF THE STUDY We report on clinical and MRI data and patient safety in a group of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients who tested seropositive for the JC virus and who have switched from natalizum...

BACKGROUND Several studies have reported lower focal demyelination and inflammatory activity in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) than in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). However, very little is known about possible differences in damage and distribution that may occur within lesions visible on magnetic resonance imaging in the 2 forms of the disease. OBJECTIVE To evaluate differenc...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Our aim was to evaluate the hypothesis that water diffusion alterations are present in normal-appearing white matter of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and to assess their change with time. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-four subjects with clinically diagnosed RRMS, with disease duration of less than 12 months and an expanded disability status s...

The clinical data of 309 patients with definite multiple sclerosis were recorded in the European data base for multiple sclerosis (EDMUS) to determine the prognostic significance of several demographic and clinical variables. An interview with closed questions structured according to standardised criteria of disease phases and courses was used to assess the clinical course. The reliability was ...

Fingolimod (Gilenya®) is the first oral immunomodulating drug approved for relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis. Its novel mechanism of action inhibits the egress of autoreactive B and T cells from lymph nodes, thus preventing them from crossing into the CNS. Two recent large Phase III clinical trials both met their primary end points clearing the way for approval by the US FDA in September 2...