The influence of menopause on multiple sclerosis.

Introduction: One third of the multiple sclerosis (MS) population consists of peri- or postmenopausal women. Many symptoms of menopause overlap those of MS. Some studies show increased speed of disability progression after menopause, while others indicate an unaltered trajectory.

"No association between disease modifying treatment and fatigue in multiple sclerosis".

Background: Fatigue affects 60-90% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). It reduces quality of life and the ability to work. The cause of fatigue in MS remains unknown.

Rebaseline no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) as a predictor of long-term disease course in a Norwegian multiple sclerosis population.

Introduction: No evidence of disease activity with three components (NEDA-3) is achieved if the person with MS (pwMS) has no new MRI lesions, no new relapses and no change in Expanded disability status scale (EDSS) over 1 year. Whether NEDA-3 is a good tool in measuring disease activity is up for discussion, but it is superior to the individual parameters separately and user-friendly. There is disagreement on whether NEDA-3 is a good predictor of long-term disability.

Fatigue in multiple sclerosis is associated with socioeconomic factors.

Objectives: Fatigue is one of the leading causes of reduced quality of life and inability to work in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Currently, no treatment effectively ameliorates fatigue. We still know little about what causes fatigue and which factors may contribute to fatigue.

The influence of socioeconomic factors on access to disease modifying treatment in a Norwegian multiple sclerosis cohort.

Objective: Several studies report an impact of socioeconomic factors on access to disease modifying treatment (DMT) in multiple sclerosis (MS), with a trend of less access to more deprived persons. We investigated the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on access to treatment in a well-defined Norwegian MS cohort.

Methods: This is a study of a population-based Norwegian MS cohort.

No significant differences in absenteeism or academic achievements in a Norwegian multiple sclerosis case control study.

Background: The duration and features of the multiple sclerosis (MS) prodrome are not well defined. We aimed to ascertain whether people with a future MS diagnosis have more days of absence and perform worse in upper secondary school than age, gender and county-matched controls.

Methods: Using registry data from the southeast of Norway, we identified people with MS born ≥1978.

Early High Efficacy Treatment in Multiple Sclerosis Is the Best Predictor of Future Disease Activity Over 1 and 2 Years in a Norwegian Population-Based Registry.

Moderate and high efficacy disease modifying therapies (DMTs) have a profound effect on disease activity. The current treatment guidelines only recommend high efficacy DMTs for patients with highly active MS. The objective was to examine the impact of initial treatment choice in achieving no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) at year 1 and 2.

Maternal education has significant influence on progression in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: The identification of potential risk factors for disease severity is of great importance in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The influence of socioeconomic status on progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) is sparsely investigated. Our aim was to investigate how socioeconomic status in adolescence influences disease progression in later life.

High prevalence of fatigue in contemporary patients with multiple sclerosis.

Objective: The prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS)-related fatigue may have changed due to new diagnostic criteria and new disease modifying drugs. We aimed to assess the prevalence of fatigue in a contemporary MS cohort, and to explore associations between fatigue and clinical and demographic factors.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of the MS population in three Norwegian counties.

The course of multiple sclerosis rewritten: a Norwegian population-based study on disease demographics and progression.

Objectives: Over the past few decades, there has been an improvement in the rate of disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and most studies relate this evolvement to the introduction of disease-modifying therapies. However, several other factors have changed over this period, including access to MRI and newer diagnostic criteria. The aim of this study is to investigate changes in the natural course of MS over time in a near-complete and geographically well-defined population from the south-east of Norway.

Chronic fatigue and depression due to multiple sclerosis: Immune-inflammatory pathways, tryptophan catabolites and the gut-brain axis as possible shared pathways.

Chronic fatigue and major depression (MDD)-like symptoms are common manifestations of multiple sclerosis (MS), both with huge impact on quality of life. Depression can manifest itself as fatigue, and depressive symptoms are often mistaken for fatigue, and vice versa. The two conditions are sometimes difficult to differentiate, and their relationship is unclear.

Prevalence of multiple sclerosis in rural and urban districts in Telemark county, Norway.

Objective: To explore the trends in prevalence and incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Telemark, Norway (latitude 58.7-60.3˚N), over the past two decades, with focus on differences between rural and urban areas.

The diagnostic value of IgG index versus oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis have been developed to guide the diagnostic process. In the latest revision of the McDonald criteria, the presence of oligoclonal bands may replace the need for dissemination in time. The aim of this study is to investigate if the less time-consuming analysis of immunoglobulin G index in cerebrospinal fluid can safely predict the findings of oligoclonal bands.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy occurring after autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for multiple sclerosis.

We describe the case of a man in his 40 s with aggressive multiple sclerosis (MS) who received autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) and subsequently developed probable, if not definite, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) and haematological complications. Autoimmune conditions occurring as a side effect of allogenic transplantations are well known in the context of haematological malignancies, but only rarely reported for autologous transplantations. Our case demonstrates that although AHSCT may be effective for suppressing MS inflammatory activity, the profound changes to the immune repertoire may lead to other clinically relevant autoimmune phenomena.

Bone mineral density in patients with multiple sclerosis, hereditary ataxia or hereditary spastic paraplegia after at least 10 years of disease - a case control study.

Background: Although disability is considered the main cause of low bone mineral density (BMD) in multiple sclerosis (MS), other factors related to the disease process or treatment could also be involved. The aim of this study was to assess whether patients with MS are more likely to develop low BMD (osteopenia or osteoporosis) than patients with the non-inflammatory neurological diseases Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP) and Hereditary Ataxia (HA).

Methods: We performed a case control study comparing BMD (spine, hip and total body) and biochemical measures of bone metabolism in 91 MS patients and 77 patients with HSP or HA, matched for age, gender and disability.

Preclinical disease activity in multiple sclerosis: A prospective study of cognitive performance prior to first symptom.

Objective: To prospectively investigate potential signs of preclinical multiple sclerosis (MS) activity and when they are present prior to first symptom using data from a historical cohort.

Methods: We linked the cognitive performance of all Norwegian men born 1950-1995 who underwent conscription examination at age 18 to 19 years to the Norwegian MS registry to identify those later developing MS, and randomly selected controls frequency-matched on year of birth from the Norwegian Conscript Service database. In this nested case-control study, cognitive test scores were available for 924 male cases and 19,530 male controls.