A new study recorded in the UK MS Register from Imperial College London and Swansea University suggests that patient-reported outcomes (PROs) could help predict the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in patients.
The researchers were able to see more advanced disability before patients had a clinical diagnosis with progressive MS using just the self-reported PROs.
PROs are pieces of information that patients provide through questionnaires about their own health, including symptom information like mobility.
Looking at PROs about physical disability over an 11-year period of 15,976 people with MS from the UK MS Register, the team found that those who reported more severe physical disability within five years of diagnosis with relapsing MS were more likely to go on to be diagnosed with progressive MS.
The UK MS Register also allowed the researchers to collect real-life clinical and NHS data over several years from MS patients.
Over 130,000 people in the UK are living with MS, a life-long condition that gradually worsens, affecting the brain and nerves.
Based on the results, the researchers believe that the level of disability around the time of diagnosis could be a key indicator of how a patient’s condition will progress.
The study suggests that PROs from people with MS could be used to make predictions about MS progression, which could improve patient outcomes as the right treatments could be selected much earlier, based on self-reported information.
Dr Catherine Godbold, research and communications manager at the MS Society, said: “These results suggest information provided by people with MS themselves about their physical symptoms could have the potential to predict how their condition may worsen in the future.
“Being able to predict MS progression could help people make more informed decisions about their care and give them more clarity about the future.”
The researchers plan to investigate how other PROs, including mood or sleep, are connected to early disability based on different questionnaires.