Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting (CMSC)

The associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at Rutgers–Robert Wood Johnson Medical School discussed findings from a qualitative study that aimed at understanding priorities and concerns within this patient population during a transitional period.

The registered dietitian at Food Matters 365 in Greensboro, North Carolina, discussed the role nutrition can play in treating comorbidities, sharing her thoughts on popular elimination diets. [WATCH TIME: 2 minutes]

Anna Kratz, PhD, associate professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and a research nonclinical psychologist, University of Michigan Medicine, offered insight into the multidisciplinary approach to managing fatigue for patients with multiple sclerosis.

The associate director of the Neuromyelitis Optica Clinic and Research Unit at Mass General spoke about some of the unmet needs and unanswered questions surrounding NMO management.

With the CMSC 2021 annual meeting having wrapped up, the director of the Multiple Sclerosis/MRI Research Group at the University of British Columbia offered his perspective on this year’s conference. [WATCH TIME: 1 minute]

Data presented at CMSC 2021 suggest worse COVID-19 outcomes were associated with patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and other comorbidities.

Rates of infection or serious infection with satralizumab in the overall treatment period were not higher than those on placebo in the double-blind period and did not increase over time.

In total, 72% of responders reported spasticity as a top 5 most problematic symptom, with 17% ranking it as the single most difficult symptom of MS to manage.

The director of the Multiple Sclerosis/MRI Research Group at the University of British Columbia spoke to some of the newer biomarkers and measures being assessed in the clinical management of multiple sclerosis. [WATCH TIME: 3 minutes]

The director of the Multiple Sclerosis Experimental Therapeutics Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine offered insight on the TREAT-MS trial to attendees of the CMSC 2021 annual meeting.

Data further investigated the impact of how individual disease-modifying therapies affect outcomes for this patient population.

The post-doctoral scholar at the University of Iowa outlined his presentation at CMSC 2021 which focused on the use of elimination diets to improve symptoms of MS. [WATCH TIME: 2 minutes]

All told, 48% of patients with MS reported that their most common primary person for guidance on cannabis use in MS was themself or no one, followed by a dispensary professional and MS physician.

The director of the Multiple Sclerosis/MRI Research Group at the University of British Columbia spoke to the portable Standardized MRI Protocol card that is being distributed in an effort to better inform the community to follow the newly published guidelines. [WATCH TIME: 2 minutes]

In the presidential lecture series at CMSC 2021, Ellen M. Mowry, MD, called into question whether or not the induction treatment approach in multiple sclerosis does in fact present a higher chance of preventing long-term disability.

Investigators provided 4 strategies for health care providers to implement when speaking to patients with MS, in an effort to improve communication between both parties.

Real-world data from a single-center study with more than 4 years of follow-up showed similar rates of moderate infections and malignancies to the general population with multiple sclerosis.

The results demonstrate a positive change in patients with previous disease-modifying drug failures.

Patient data were evaluated over a 3-year period, with analyses from baseline, year 1, and year 2 presented at previous CMSC meetings.

Both diets resulted in patients with MS reporting significant changes on Perceived Deficits Questionnaire scores for fatigue and cognitive dysfunction after 12 weeks of intervention.

In Part 2 of this interview, Bryan Davis, PsyD, MS, clinical health psychology fellow at Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for MS, details the impact that conversations about masculinity norms in MS can have on future trials and care.

The clinical health psychology fellow at Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research at Cleveland Clinic details the interventions for men with MS and how the study can change the discussion on masculinity norms.

In Part 1 of this interview, the clinical health psychology fellow at Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research provides in-depth insight on his study evaluating masculinity norms in patients with multiple sclerosis.