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Request for a study
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:18 am
by sou
Hi all.
My apologies. I have used the search facility of the forum but I was unable to find what I was looking for. The query is quite ambiguous.
I am looking for a study that concluded that most MS drugs do not really alter the long term course and result of the disease. The authors had compared treated and untreated patients so as to determine what the natural course of the disease is.
Can somebody help?
Thanks,
sou
Re: Request for a study
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 8:05 am
by ttt1
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 11:12 am
by sou
Thank you for your reply.
This is indeed interesting but unfortunately it is not what I am looking for. I am looking for a study that analyzes the natural course of disease. Perhaps without involving any drugs at all.
Does that ring any bells to anybody?
Thanks,
sou
DMDs and Disease Progression
Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 5:41 am
by Shayk
Sou
Here's one potential study:
Disease-modifying agents in the treatment of multiple sclerosis: a review of long-term outcomes
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, debilitating condition mediated by inflammation and neurodegeneration. .
The ultimate goal of treatment is to delay or halt the progression of irreversible disability...
the long-term effects of DMDs on MS progression are not very clear;
long-term, open-label extensions of interferon and glatiramer acetate failed to show significant beneficial effects in delaying disability progression
Also, I understand the DMDs are approved to reduce the number of relapses in a limited number of people with MS, but the question arises, do relapses influence disease progression? With respect to the natural history studies, more than one study has indicated that
disability levels are correlated with age, irrespective of the number of relapses.
Here's one study:
Natural history of multiple sclerosis: a unifying concept
... Finally, the 1562 patients with an exacerbating-remitting initial course and the 282 patients with a progressive initial course of the disease were essentially similar with respect to the time course of disability accumulation from assignment to a given disability score, and the age at assignment of disability landmarks.
These observational data suggest that the clinical phenotype and course of multiple sclerosis are age dependent.
Times to reach disability milestones, and ages at which these landmarks are reached, follow a predefined schedule not obviously influenced by relapses, whenever they may occur, or by the initial course of the disease, whatever its phenotype.
All the best and hope this helps.
Sharon