0000000000085471
AUTHOR
Ilaria Pesci
A multicenter survey on access to care in Multiple Sclerosis-related trigeminal neuralgia
The prevalence of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is higher than in the general population and its management can be particularly challenging due to a number of reasons including high recurrence rates, lack of MS-specific treatment guidelines and uncertainties about pain pathophysiology. Aim of this cross-sectional, multicentre survey was to gather information on the current treatment modalities and options of MS-related TN across 23 Italian MS centres. Initial medical management (carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine) of MS-related TN was fairly homogeneous throughout Italian centres. The most commonly available surgical procedure was microvascular decompression…
Progression is independent of relapse activity in early multiple sclerosis: a real-life cohort study
Portaccio et al. report that in early relapsing-onset multiple sclerosis, progression independent of relapse activity is an important contributor to disability accumulation. Insidious progression occurs even in the earliest disease phases, suggesting that inflammation and degeneration may represent a single disease continuum.Disability accrual in multiple sclerosis may occur as relapse-associated worsening or progression independent of relapse activity. The role of progression independent of relapse activity in early multiple sclerosis is yet to be established. The objective of this multicentre, observational, retrospective cohort study was to investigate the contribution of relapse-associa…
Risk of Getting COVID-19 in People With Multiple Sclerosis: A Case-Control Study
Background and ObjectivesSeveral studies have assessed risk factors associated with the severity of COVID-19 outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). The potential role of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and demographic and clinical factors on the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection has not been evaluated so far. The objective of this study was to assess risk factors of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection in PwMS by using data collected in the Italian MS Register (IMSR).MethodsA case-control (1:2) study was set up. Cases included PwMS with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, and controls included PwMS without a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Both groups were propensity score–m…
A cross-sectional, multicentre study of the therapeutic management of multiple sclerosis relapses in Italy.
Despite the existence of therapeutic guidelines, management of multiple sclerosis relapse remains heterogeneous. Optimisation of relapse outcome demands an improved understanding of the neurologist's therapeutic attitude towards relapse management, which is the aim of this study. Neurologists from 13 multiple sclerosis centres completed a questionnaire every time they assessed multiple sclerosis relapses. The questionnaire requested a guided description of the relapse's clinical characteristics and an indication of the prescribed therapy, supported with up to 3 out of 20 suggested reasons. Over 3 months, 368 questionnaires were collected. Median percentage (%) of 21 relapses resulting in a …
A multicentRE observational analysiS of PErsistenCe to Treatment in the new multiple sclerosis era: the RESPECT study.
In this independent, multicenter, retrospective study, we investigated the short-term persistence to treatment with first-line self-injectable or oral disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis. Data of patients regularly attending 21 Italian MS Centres who started a self-injectable or an oral DMT in 2015 were collected to: (1) estimate the proportion of patients discontinuing the treatment; (3) explore reasons for discontinuation; (3) identify baseline predictors of treatment discontinuation over a follow-up period of 12 months. We analyzed data of 1832 consecutive patients (1289 women, 543 men); 374 (20.4%) of them discontinued the prescrib…
Informing MS patients on treatment options: a consensus on the process of consent taking
Abstract\ud In the last years, change in multiple sclerosis (MS) therapeutic scenario has highlighted the need for an improved doctor-patient communication in advance of treatment initiation in order to allow patient’s empowerment in the decision-making process.\ud Aims\ud The aims of our project were to review the strategies used by Italian MS specialists to inform patients about treatment options and to design a multicentre shared document that homogenizes the information about disease-modifying treatment (DMTs) and the procedure of taking informed consent in clinical practice.\ud Results\ud The new resource, obtained by consensus among 31 neurologists from 27 MS Centres in Italy with the…
Comparing Natural History of Early and Late Onset Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis
Objective: This study was undertaken to describe and compare disease course and prognosis of early (ie, disease onset before age 11 years) and late (ie, disease onset after age 11 years) onset pediatric multiple sclerosis. Methods: Prospectively collected clinical information from Italian Multiple Sclerosis Register of 1993 pediatric multiple sclerosis patients, of whom 172 had early onset, was analyzed. Cox models adjusted for sex, baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale score, and disease-modifying treatments and stratified for diagnostic criteria adopted (Poser vs McDonald) were used to assess the risk of reaching irreversible Expanded Disability Status Scale scores of 3, 4, and 6, and…