Multiple Sclerosis Research Repository

1. process”: Marcus Koch et al

-diffuse neurodegeneration

-axonal degeneration is probably the most important contributor to secondary progression

-these findings suggest that the development of a progressive disease course may be an age-dependent phenomenon mediated by diffuse neurodegeneration in the CNS, which is largely independent of focal inflammation

-the initial disease course has no significant influence on the age at progression.  Mean age at progression in PPMS was 39.1 years versus 39.5 years in SPMS

-the older the patients were at disease onset, the shorter the time to secondary progression

-we found that age at disease onset and motor onset were predictive factors for the time to progression

-our initial finding that the age at progression is independent of the initial disease course is in keeping with the findings reported previously.  This confirms the idea that relapses do not influence the development of a progressive disease course in MS

-Tremlett and colleagues reported cerebellar or brainstem/cerebellar symptoms to be associated with a shorter time to EDSS 6 in their study on 299 PPMS patients