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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Measuring Progressive Neurological Disability in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis
Published on: November 14, 2016
Anti-inflammatory disease-modifying treatment and disability progression in primary progressive multiple sclerosis: a
J Lorscheider1, J Kuhle1, G Izquierdo2
1Departments of Medicine, Clinical Research, Biomedicine and Biomedical Engineering, Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, University Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Background And Purpose:
Treatment options in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) are scarce and, with the exception of ocrelizumab, anti-inflammatory agents have failed to show efficacy in ameliorating disability progression. The aim of this study was to investigate a potential effect of anti-inflammatory disease-modifying treatment on disability outcomes in PPMS.
Methods:
Using MSBase, a large, international, observational database, we identified patients with PPMS who were either never treated or treated with a disease-modifying agent. Propensity score matching was used to select subpopulations with similar baseline characteristics. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) outcomes were compared with an intention-to-treat and an as-treated approach in paired, pairwise-censored analyses.
Results:
Of the 1284 included patients, 533 were matched (treated, n = 195; untreated n = 338). Median on-study pairwise-censored follow-up was 3.4 years (quartiles 1.2-5.5). No difference in the hazard of experiencing 3-month confirmed EDSS progression events was observed between the groups [hazard ratio (HR), 1.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.6-1.7, P = 0.87]. We did not find significant differences in the hazards of confirmed EDSS improvement (HR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.6-1.6, P = 0.91) or reaching a confirmed EDSS step ≥7 (HR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.7-1.6, P = 0.69).
Conclusion:
Our pooled analysis of disease-modifying agents suggests that these therapies have no substantial effect on short- to medium-term disability outcomes in PPMS.
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