Tanuja Chitnis, MD: Consequences of Incomplete Recovery in MS

“In general, we need to pay more attention to wellness throughout the MS disease course, but especially around relapse recovery. Physical therapy, occupational therapy are a small part of it and then adding on these other factors are probably going to be important.”

In a study presented at the 2020 America’s Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, February 27-29, 2020, researchers led by Marinos Sotiropoulos, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, found that incomplete recovery from multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses contributes to 10-year disability in patients with relapsing MS.

Tanuja Chitnis, MD, senior author of the study and director of the Partners Pediatric MS Center at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, pointed out an association between patients with older age and higher rates of incomplete recovery. The study 308 patients who contributed a total of 403 eligible relapses, 50.4% of which had an incomplete recovery at 6 months. There was a significant association between 10-year Expanded Disability Status Scale score and the percentage of relapses with complete recovery (P <.001) and age at first symptom onset (P <.004).

NeurologyLive sat down with Chitnis at the 2020 ACTRIMS Forum to discuss the study results and their implication on predicting long-term outcomes.

REFERENCE

Sotiropoulos MG, Lokhande H, Rosso M, et al. The Contribution Of Relapse Recovery To Long-term Outcomes In MS. Presented at: 2020 ACTRIMS Forum. February 27-29, 2020; West Palm Beach, FL. Abstract LB317.