Neurology

Is vitamin D supplementation justified?

 

Vitamin D supplementation is routinely recommended for patients with multiple sclerosis. However, numerous studies have reported that there is no benefit on clinical or MRI outcomes associated with high-dose vitamin D. Read More

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Putting biomarkers into practice

 

ACTRIMS Forum 2023

Neurofilament-light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) have the potential to be useful biomarkers of axonal damage and neurodegeneration. However, additional research is needed to determine normative values and to track the significance of biomarker changes over time. A number of groups addressed these issues at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ACTRIMS) Forum 2023, held February 23-25, 2023 in San Diego CA. Read More

CNS effects of Wegovy (semaglutide)

 

There is considerable discussion in the media (social and otherwise) about semaglutide (Wegovy), one of a class of drugs now approved for the treatment of obesity. Of further interest is the potential usefulness of these agents in a range of neurodegenerative disorders, including MS, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson disease. Read More

Putting shared decision-making into practice

 

Three elements
Decision aids
Use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs)
Switching therapy
SDM: strengths and limitations

The concept of shared decision-making (SDM) has gained momentum in recent years as the preferred approach to MS care. The emergence of SDM two decades ago can be traced back to an acknowledgement of the greater role patients wanted to play in their care decisions, in part due to the recognition that patients’ treatment goals may differ from those of the clinician (Kumar et al. Patient Prefer Adherence 2021;15:1515-1527); and a proliferation of treatments that were similar so that medication choices were preference-sensitive. The advent of social media provided a further spur to patients’ notions of empowerment and participatory medicine (Kantor et al. Neurol Ther 2018;7:37-49). Read More

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