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Insights into the Course of Illness of MS: Clinical and Radiological Aspects

Received: 10 March 2022    Accepted: 30 March 2022    Published: 9 April 2022
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Abstract

Patients with MS manifest a high degree of variability in their disease course and at first glance the disease outcome may seem unpredictable. Here we present a framework for clinicians challenged by the management of MS patients and by highlighting important aspects of the disease to be taken into account, we review the complex relationship between inflammation and neuronal degeneration. Details of illustrative cases are here described with the goal to emphasize the involvement of the spinal cord as a key element leading to progressive phases of the disease and to underscore the utility of recent paraclinical tools including quantified MRI volumetrics. We provide insights that allow understanding the variability of disease courses of MS, assessing the rate by which the disease generates clinical and radiological burdens for individual patients, and how currently available treatments have a predictable impact on outcomes. In line with latest views on the therapeutic approach for MS, instituting an immune therapy capable of arresting the inflammatory process before the cascade of degenerative phenomena takes place is portrayed as a strategy to prevent progressive stages of the disease, increasing the chance to induce a state of permanent remission when the treatment could be discontinued.

Published in Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience (Volume 6, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.cnn.20220602.11
Page(s) 19-28
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

MS Course of Illness, Neuronal Degeneration, Disease Progression, MRI for MS, Treatment Strategies

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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Roberto Bomprezzi, Andrew Chen, Christopher Hemond. (2022). Insights into the Course of Illness of MS: Clinical and Radiological Aspects. Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience, 6(2), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20220602.11

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    ACS Style

    Roberto Bomprezzi; Andrew Chen; Christopher Hemond. Insights into the Course of Illness of MS: Clinical and Radiological Aspects. Clin. Neurol. Neurosci. 2022, 6(2), 19-28. doi: 10.11648/j.cnn.20220602.11

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    AMA Style

    Roberto Bomprezzi, Andrew Chen, Christopher Hemond. Insights into the Course of Illness of MS: Clinical and Radiological Aspects. Clin Neurol Neurosci. 2022;6(2):19-28. doi: 10.11648/j.cnn.20220602.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.cnn.20220602.11,
      author = {Roberto Bomprezzi and Andrew Chen and Christopher Hemond},
      title = {Insights into the Course of Illness of MS: Clinical and Radiological Aspects},
      journal = {Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience},
      volume = {6},
      number = {2},
      pages = {19-28},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cnn.20220602.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20220602.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cnn.20220602.11},
      abstract = {Patients with MS manifest a high degree of variability in their disease course and at first glance the disease outcome may seem unpredictable. Here we present a framework for clinicians challenged by the management of MS patients and by highlighting important aspects of the disease to be taken into account, we review the complex relationship between inflammation and neuronal degeneration. Details of illustrative cases are here described with the goal to emphasize the involvement of the spinal cord as a key element leading to progressive phases of the disease and to underscore the utility of recent paraclinical tools including quantified MRI volumetrics. We provide insights that allow understanding the variability of disease courses of MS, assessing the rate by which the disease generates clinical and radiological burdens for individual patients, and how currently available treatments have a predictable impact on outcomes. In line with latest views on the therapeutic approach for MS, instituting an immune therapy capable of arresting the inflammatory process before the cascade of degenerative phenomena takes place is portrayed as a strategy to prevent progressive stages of the disease, increasing the chance to induce a state of permanent remission when the treatment could be discontinued.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    T1  - Insights into the Course of Illness of MS: Clinical and Radiological Aspects
    AU  - Roberto Bomprezzi
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    JF  - Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience
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    AB  - Patients with MS manifest a high degree of variability in their disease course and at first glance the disease outcome may seem unpredictable. Here we present a framework for clinicians challenged by the management of MS patients and by highlighting important aspects of the disease to be taken into account, we review the complex relationship between inflammation and neuronal degeneration. Details of illustrative cases are here described with the goal to emphasize the involvement of the spinal cord as a key element leading to progressive phases of the disease and to underscore the utility of recent paraclinical tools including quantified MRI volumetrics. We provide insights that allow understanding the variability of disease courses of MS, assessing the rate by which the disease generates clinical and radiological burdens for individual patients, and how currently available treatments have a predictable impact on outcomes. In line with latest views on the therapeutic approach for MS, instituting an immune therapy capable of arresting the inflammatory process before the cascade of degenerative phenomena takes place is portrayed as a strategy to prevent progressive stages of the disease, increasing the chance to induce a state of permanent remission when the treatment could be discontinued.
    VL  - 6
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Author Information
  • Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, the United States

  • Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, the United States

  • Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, the United States

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