scholarly journals Designing a Self-Perception Cognitive Questionnaire for Italian Multiple Sclerosis Patients (Sclerosi Multipla Autovalutazione Cognitiva, SMAC). A Preliminary Exploratory Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Riccardi ◽  
Francesca Ognibene ◽  
Sara Mondini ◽  
Massimo Nucci ◽  
Monica Margoni ◽  
...  

Background: Although cognition in multiple sclerosis (MS) is assessed by means of several neuropsychological tests, only a few tools exist to investigate patients' perspectives on cognitive functioning.Objective: To develop a new questionnaire aimed at exploring patients' self-perception with respect to cognition in Italian MS patients.Methods: A total of 120 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients and 120 matched healthy controls (HC) completed a 25-item questionnaire called the Sclerosi Multipla Autovalutazione Cognitiva (SMAC). The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Sorting Test (D-KEFS ST), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and the Fatigue Scale (FSS) were also administered to the patients.Results: Significantly higher SMAC scores were displayed by RRMS patients compared with HC (30.1 ± 16.9 vs. 23.4 ± 10.4, p = 0.003). SMAC inversely correlated with SDMT (r = −0.31, p < 0.001), D-KEFS ST FSC (r = −0.21, p = 0.017), D-KEFS ST FSD (r = −0.22, p = 0.015) and D-KEFS ST SR (r = −0.19, p = 0.035) and positively correlated with FSS (r = 0.42, p < 0.001) and BDI-II (r = 0.59, p < 0.001). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the questionnaire was 0.94.Conclusion: Preliminary findings suggest that SMAC is a promising patient-reported outcome to be included in MS neuropsychological evaluation and thus warrants being further tested and developed.

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 585-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Mikol ◽  
M Lopez-Bresnahan ◽  
S Taraskiewicz ◽  
P Chang ◽  
J Rangnow ◽  
...  

Injection site reactions (ISRs) are a common side effect of subcutaneous interferon beta therapy, particularly during initiation of therapy. Retrospective analysis of two clinical trials showed that patients using an autoinjector experienced fewer ISRs than patients administering interferon beta manually. This randomized, open-label trial compared the occurrence of ISRs in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients subcutaneously injecting interferon beta-1a manually or with autoinjector. In total, 1825 patients (autoinjector, 932; manual injection, 893) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Significantly fewer patients using the autoinjector experienced ISRs, based on physician assessment, compared with manual injection (78.7% versus 85.4%; p<0.001). There was no statistical difference on primary study endpoint: number of patients experiencing moderate to severe ISRs after 12 weeks’ therapy (25.3% versus 23.2%, P=0.449). The patient-reported proportion of any ISR during the treatment period was significantly greater for the manual injection group (71.8% versus 66.1%; p<0.001). The decreased incidence of ISRs with the autoinjector compared to manual injection seen in this short-term study, coupled with ease of use of the autoinjector, suggest that it could improve compliance, and therefore therapeutic outcomes in some patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 868
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kapica-Topczewska ◽  
François Collin ◽  
Joanna Tarasiuk ◽  
Agata Czarnowska ◽  
Monika Chorąży ◽  
...  

The aim of the study was to verify the association of clinical relapses and brain activity with disability progression in relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis patients receiving disease-modifying treatments in Poland. Disability progression was defined as relapse-associated worsening (RAW), progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA), and progression independent of relapses and brain MRI Activity (PIRMA). Data from the Therapeutic Program Monitoring System were analyzed. Three panels of patients were identified: R0, no relapse during treatment, and R1 and R2 with the occurrence of relapse during the first and the second year of treatment, respectively. In the R0 panel, we detected 4.6% PIRA patients at 24 months (p < 0.001, 5.0% at 36 months, 5.6% at 48 months, 6.1% at 60 months). When restricting this panel to patients without brain MRI activity, we detected 3.0% PIRMA patients at 12 months, 4.5% at 24 months, and varying from 5.3% to 6.2% between 36 and 60 months of treatment, respectively. In the R1 panel, RAW was detected in 15.6% patients at 12 months and, in the absence of further relapses, 9.7% at 24 months and 6.8% at 36 months of treatment. The R2 group was associated with RAW significantly more frequently at 24 months compared to the R1 at 12 months (20.7%; p < 0.05), but without a statistical difference later on. In our work, we confirmed that disability progression was independent of relapses and brain MRI activity.


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