fMRI Study of Treatment Recommendations Comparing Recently Diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Patients to Controls
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2012-08-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Impaired short term memory, attention and concentration lapses, and slower processing of
information occur in up to 40-65% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The quality of
life of individuals with MS is impacted to the degree with which they experience these
symptoms.
There are several medications approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) to treat MS symptoms and to modify (slow) disease course. Traditional approaches to
determining the effectiveness of medications used in treating MS rely on reports of the
number of relapses an individual experiences, as well as standard clinical tests, such as the
Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).
This research study will look at whether the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
scan can be used as a tool for measuring changes in the brain associated with treatment in MS
patients. Unlike a typical MRI which provides structural information about the brain, the
fMRI provides information about brain activity during performance of cognitive or motor
tasks.