Contributions
Abstract: EP1566
Type: ePoster
Abstract Category: Therapy - symptomatic - Quality of life
Background: Patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) often have cognitive impairment in addition to physical impairment. The burden of cognitive and physical impairment progresses over time, and may be major determinants of quality of life. Assessment of cognitive impairment can in some instances be neglected in the regular clinical setting.
We investigated the relationship between quality of life and physical and cognitive impairment as assessed by standard methods commonly used in clinical trials with progressive MS patients.
Methods: This is a descriptive study of 52 patients with primary progressive (N=18) and secondary progressive MS (N=34).
All patients were assessed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale, Timed 25 Foot Walk (T25FW) test, 9 Hole Peg Test (9HPT), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), Trail Making Test B (TRAIL-B) and they answered the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire.
Results: Only measures of cognitive impairment correlated with the overall SF-36 quality of life score (all: p ≤ 0.001) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS) score from the SF-36 (all: p = 0.001 - 0.003). The SDMT and PASAT had equally strong correlation with the SF-36 (both: p < 0.001) and the MCS (both: p = 0.001).
T25FW was the only physical measure to correlate with a quality of life component from the SF-36, namely the Physical Component Summary (p < 0.001). We found no significant correlation between the measures of cognitive impairment and the other overall physical measures, but interestingly, we found a possible relationship between the 9HPT score for the non-dominant hand and the SDMT
(p = 0.014) and TRAIL-B (p = 0.027).
Conclusion: Our findings support including measures of cognitive impairment in the assessment of patients with progressive MS as these correlate closer with quality of life than measures of physical impairment. Several reliable cognitive tests exist, however we suggest using the SDMT as it is easy to administer, is generally well accepted by patients and had a high degree of correlation to quality of life in our study.
Disclosure:
Dr. Chow reports non-financial support from Genzyme, non-financial support from Merck Serono, outside the submitted work;
Dr. Schreiber reports grants from Roche Foundation for Anemia Research (RoFAR) grant award ID 9279576782 and Roche Denmark, commercial entity and Brdr. Rønje Holding., during the conduct of the study; other from Biogen Idec, personal fees from Genzyme- Sanofi, personal fees from Novartis, other from Merck Serono, other from Teva, outside the submitted work;
Melinda Magyari has served on scientific advisory board for Biogen Idec and Novartis, Merck Serono, has received honoraria for lecturing from Biogen Idec, Merck Serono, Novartis, Genzyme, has received support for congress participation from Biogen Idec, Novartis, Genzyme, Teva.
Dr. Ammitzbøll reports non-financial support from Teva, non-financial support from Biogen Idec, non-financial support from Genzyme, non-financial support from Merck Serono, outside the submitted work;
Dr. Börnsen reports other from Genzyme, other from Novartis, grants from Danish Mutiple Sclerosis Society, outside the submitted work;
Jeppe Romme Christensen has received speaker honoraria from Novartis and TEVA, consultant honoraria from Biogen Idec and TEVA, and has had travel expenses reimbursed by Biogen Idec.
Dr. Ratzer has nothing to disclose.
Per Soelberg Sørensen has received personal compensation for serving on scientific advisory boards, steering committees or independent data monitoring boards for Biogen Idec, Merck Serono, Novartis, Genzyme, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline, medDay Pharmaceuticals and Forward Pharma and has received speaker honoraria from Biogen Idec, Merck Serono, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Genzyme, and Novartis.
Finn Sellebjerg has served on scientific advisory boards, been on the steering committees of clinical trials, served as a consultant, received support for congress participation, received speaker honoraria, or received research support for his laboratory from Biogen, EMD Serono, Genzyme, Lundbeck, Merck Serono, Novartis and Teva.
Abstract: EP1566
Type: ePoster
Abstract Category: Therapy - symptomatic - Quality of life
Background: Patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) often have cognitive impairment in addition to physical impairment. The burden of cognitive and physical impairment progresses over time, and may be major determinants of quality of life. Assessment of cognitive impairment can in some instances be neglected in the regular clinical setting.
We investigated the relationship between quality of life and physical and cognitive impairment as assessed by standard methods commonly used in clinical trials with progressive MS patients.
Methods: This is a descriptive study of 52 patients with primary progressive (N=18) and secondary progressive MS (N=34).
All patients were assessed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale, Timed 25 Foot Walk (T25FW) test, 9 Hole Peg Test (9HPT), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), Trail Making Test B (TRAIL-B) and they answered the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire.
Results: Only measures of cognitive impairment correlated with the overall SF-36 quality of life score (all: p ≤ 0.001) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS) score from the SF-36 (all: p = 0.001 - 0.003). The SDMT and PASAT had equally strong correlation with the SF-36 (both: p < 0.001) and the MCS (both: p = 0.001).
T25FW was the only physical measure to correlate with a quality of life component from the SF-36, namely the Physical Component Summary (p < 0.001). We found no significant correlation between the measures of cognitive impairment and the other overall physical measures, but interestingly, we found a possible relationship between the 9HPT score for the non-dominant hand and the SDMT
(p = 0.014) and TRAIL-B (p = 0.027).
Conclusion: Our findings support including measures of cognitive impairment in the assessment of patients with progressive MS as these correlate closer with quality of life than measures of physical impairment. Several reliable cognitive tests exist, however we suggest using the SDMT as it is easy to administer, is generally well accepted by patients and had a high degree of correlation to quality of life in our study.
Disclosure:
Dr. Chow reports non-financial support from Genzyme, non-financial support from Merck Serono, outside the submitted work;
Dr. Schreiber reports grants from Roche Foundation for Anemia Research (RoFAR) grant award ID 9279576782 and Roche Denmark, commercial entity and Brdr. Rønje Holding., during the conduct of the study; other from Biogen Idec, personal fees from Genzyme- Sanofi, personal fees from Novartis, other from Merck Serono, other from Teva, outside the submitted work;
Melinda Magyari has served on scientific advisory board for Biogen Idec and Novartis, Merck Serono, has received honoraria for lecturing from Biogen Idec, Merck Serono, Novartis, Genzyme, has received support for congress participation from Biogen Idec, Novartis, Genzyme, Teva.
Dr. Ammitzbøll reports non-financial support from Teva, non-financial support from Biogen Idec, non-financial support from Genzyme, non-financial support from Merck Serono, outside the submitted work;
Dr. Börnsen reports other from Genzyme, other from Novartis, grants from Danish Mutiple Sclerosis Society, outside the submitted work;
Jeppe Romme Christensen has received speaker honoraria from Novartis and TEVA, consultant honoraria from Biogen Idec and TEVA, and has had travel expenses reimbursed by Biogen Idec.
Dr. Ratzer has nothing to disclose.
Per Soelberg Sørensen has received personal compensation for serving on scientific advisory boards, steering committees or independent data monitoring boards for Biogen Idec, Merck Serono, Novartis, Genzyme, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline, medDay Pharmaceuticals and Forward Pharma and has received speaker honoraria from Biogen Idec, Merck Serono, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Genzyme, and Novartis.
Finn Sellebjerg has served on scientific advisory boards, been on the steering committees of clinical trials, served as a consultant, received support for congress participation, received speaker honoraria, or received research support for his laboratory from Biogen, EMD Serono, Genzyme, Lundbeck, Merck Serono, Novartis and Teva.