Disability profile of multiple sclerosis in New Zealand.

New Zealand is a high risk region for multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to investigate demographic, clinical and temporal factors associated with disability status in the New Zealand National Multiple Sclerosis Prevalence Study (NZNMSPS) cohort. Data were obtained from the 2006 NZNMSPS with MS diagnosis based on the 2005 McDonald criteria.

Assessing possible selection bias in a national voluntary MS longitudinal study in Australia.

Background: Surveying volunteer members of a multiple sclerosis registry is a very cost-effective way of assessing the impact of the disease on life outcomes. However, whether the data from such a study can be generalised to the whole population of persons living with MS in a country or region is unclear.

Methods: Here we compare the demographic and disease characteristics of participants in one such study, the Australian Multiple Sclerosis Longitudinal Study (AMSLS), with two well-characterised MS prevalence studies with near-complete ascertainment of MS in their study regions.

Neurological manifestations of phaeochromocytomas and secretory paragangliomas: a reappraisal.

Objective: To determine the frequency and range of neurological manifestations of phaeochromocytomas and secretory paragangliomas.

Methods: A retrospective review of case notes of patients admitted to Auckland Hospital from 1985 to 2011 with a discharge diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma or secretory paraganglioma.

Results: Ninety-three patients were admitted with a phaeochromocytoma or secretory paraganglioma.

Sustained improvement in Expanded Disability Status Scale as a new efficacy measure of neurological change in multiple sclerosis: treatment effects with natalizumab in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Background: Validated measures of sustained improvements in neurological function have not been established for multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical studies.

Objective: To evaluate sustained Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) change as a potential indicator of neurological improvement and as an outcome measure in MS clinical studies.

Methods: Analyses were performed on patients (n = 620) from the pivotal natalizumab study AFFIRM with baseline EDSS scores ≥2.

MS prevalence in New Zealand, an ethnically and latitudinally diverse country.

Background: The prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) is not uniform, with a latitudinal gradient of prevalence present in most studies. Understanding the drivers of this gradient may allow a better understanding of the environmental factors involved in MS pathogenesis.

Method: The New Zealand national MS prevalence study (NZMSPS) is a cross-sectional study of people with definite MS (DMS) (McDonald criteria 2005) resident in New Zealand on census night, 7 March 2006, utilizing multiple sources of notification.