More research needed for treatment of primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Left, Anneke van der Walt; right, Helmut Butzkueven
at the annual "Kiss Goodbye to MS" awareness event

The MSBase Foundation is the largest international online registry in the world for neurologists studying multiple sclerosis and other neuro-immunological diseases. Central Clinical School's Professor Helmut Butzkueven is managing director of MSBase, and he and Associate Professor Anneke van der Walt, the Head of MS services at Alfred Health, recently co-authored a publication on a cohort study involving 1284 patients with primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) from MSBase's large, international, observational database.

They found that therapies, effective for other forms of MS, have no substantial effect on short- to medium-term disability outcomes in PPMS.

Disability outcomes using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) were compared between people who had treatment (194) and those without treatment (338), with the average follow-up time of 3.4 years. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups.

Current treatment options for people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) are limited. Further research studies are urgently needed for people with primary progressive MS to improve their health and wellbeing.

Reference: Lorscheider, Kuhle, Izquierdo…Van der Walt, Butzhueven, Kappos, Kalincik, MS Base Investigators. Anti-inflammatory disease modifying treatment and disability progression in primary progressive multiple sclerosis: a cohort study. Eur J Neurol. Ahead of print, 9 October 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.13824