Methodology for analyzing clinical neurological data: ACTH in multiple sclerosis

From 1965 to 1968 a multicenter (USA) clinical trial was conducted to compare ACTH with placebo for the treatment of multiple sclerosis patients in a stage of acute exacerbation. Of seven evaluation systems which were used, one was a quantitative neurological examination. In this report, the quantitative neurological data have been re-evaluated using a transformation of the data which express patient scores in terms of a percentage of age- and sex-matched normal function followed by a reduction of the data into composite neurological functions vs time. The results support the positive findings of previous reports. In addition, the methodology helps to simplify the therapists' task of interpreting results by enabling him to determine how near normal function the patient came following the treatment trial.