Carrie Hersh, DO, MSc: Measuring Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

“To this day, we really don’t have a clear understanding of exactly how we need to be measuring [cognitive impairment and decline] in the most ideal way.”

Although the treatment landscape for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is full of promise and availability therapies, the case is slightly less so for progressive forms of the disease. Additionally, due to the impact of progressive forms of MS spanning to include cognitive impairment, the process of measuring its progression becomes more difficult.

For Carrie Hersh, DO, MSc, assistant professor of neurology, Lerner College of Medicine, and neurologist, Luo Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Cleveland Clinic, the use of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, while important, does not cover all the bases. Currently, specialists in the MS space such as Hersh are focused on addressing this challenge.

To find out more about how that process is underway at Cleveland Clinic centers, NeurologyLive sat with Hersh at Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) forum, February 27-29, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Florida. She discussed some of the efforts of the clinic’s MS Performance Test.

For more ACTRIMS coverage, click here.