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The Second Canadian Conference on Multiple Sclerosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Brian G. Weinshenker*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa
Robert Nelson
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa
*
Room 6365, Ottawa General Hospital, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada KIH 8L6
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Abstract:

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The epidemiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) and the planning and interpretation of clinical therapeutic trials were the subjects of a symposium on MS held on June 13, 1989. Several speakers addressed whether MS is a genetic or an environmental disease. An environmental trigger would resolve the relatively low penetrance of the disease in susceptible individuals, although the alternative hypothesis that MS is a multigenic disease would also account for this observation. Clinical trials have to date failed to confirm the efficacy of any immunosuppressive or other agent in the management of progressive MS. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appears to be highly sensitive for monitoring the activity of MS. Preliminary evidence suggests that MRI activity correlates with longitudinal clinical assessments of disability. Immunologic tests, while valuable in determining pathophysiology of MS, have not been strongly correlated with clinical outcome.

Type
Symposium Summary
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1990

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