Author Topic: (Abst.) Progressive dwindling in MS: opportunity to improve care  (Read 195 times)

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Offline agate

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From PubMed, July 22, 2016:

Quote
PLoS One. 2016 Jul 21;11(7)

Progressive Dwindling in Multiple Sclerosis: An Opportunity to Improve Care

Martin JE1, Raffel J1, Nicholas R1.

Author information

1Centre for Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration, Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

INTRODUCTION:

In the general ageing population, 40% of deaths occur following a prolonged trajectory of "progressive dwindling," characterised by chronic accumulation of disability and frailty, and associated with increased dependency and reduced reserves. Those who progressively dwindle are poorly catered for by current healthcare systems and would benefit from a coordinated approach to their medical and social care, known as formative care. People with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) may be more likely to progressively dwindle, and may be appropriate targets for formative care pathways.

OBJECTIVES:

To determine the proportion of pwMS who follow a progressive dwindling trajectory prior to death. To relate trajectory to place of death, and examine what factors predict the progressively dwindling trajectory.

METHODS:

A retrospective observational study of 582 deceased pwMS enrolled in the UK MS Tissue Bank, including death certificates and extensive clinical summaries.

RESULTS:

73.7% of pwMS had a "progressively dwindling" trajectory of dying. This was predicted by those who reach MS disease milestones earlier. 72.5% of pwMS died an MS-related death, which was predicted by an aggressive disease course from onset. Those who progressively dwindled were equally likely to die in hospital as those with other trajectories to death.

CONCLUSIONS:

The progressively dwindling trajectory of dying is very common in pwMS, and can be predicted by earlier disease milestones. Pathways could target pwMS in these years prior to death, to improve care.
MS Speaks--online for 17 years

SPMS, diagnosed 1980. Avonex 2001-2004. Copaxone 2007-2010. Glatopa (glatiramer acetate 40mg 3 times/week) since 12/16/20.

Offline agate

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More about this in Multiple Sclerosis News Today, August 2, 2016:

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Nearly 75% of MS Patients in UK Study Went Through Progressive Decline Prior to Death

 Alisa Woods, PhD

A new study  focused on an aspect of multiple sclerosis (MS) that is sometimes overlooked by researchers: progressive dwindling, or the tendency over time for people with MS to become increasingly frail and dependent on caregivers, with diminished energy and heightened disability. The report, “Progressive Dwindling in Multiple Sclerosis: An Opportunity to Improve Care,“  was published July 21 in the journal PloS One.

To study progressive dwindling, the researchers obtained death certificates and clinical information on 582 MS patients in the U.K., who died between January 1998 and February 2015. Led by Jessica E. Martin of the Centre for Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, the team tried to identify how many of these people went through progressive dwindling, as well as the factors that might predict this development.

Overall, the scientists found that 73.7 percent of the study’s patients experienced progressive dwindling before dying, going through an extended, years-long decline. A total of 72.5 percent died due to complications related to their MS. These patients commonly had more aggressive forms of MS from the disease’s onset, which occurred at an earlier age and resulted in earlier “symptom onset, progression, wheelchair use, and death,” the researchers said.

Progressive dwindling was also associated with dying in the hospital rather than in other settings, such as at home.

The study also revealed that progressive dwindling is more common in people with MS than among elderly in the general population. Among older adults, 40 percent progressively dwindle before dying, compared to the 73.7 percent of MS patients in this study. In addition, only 35 percent of the general population in the U.K. die in a hospital, while among the 503 MS patients whose place of death was identified, 50.7 percent died in hospital and 25.4 percent in a care home.

Researchers noted that these results could impact care of those with MS. “We believe that better coordination of medical and social care is paramount in the years prior to death but subsequent to active treatment in [people with MS] and other populations. The results from this study provide a framework on which to base subsequent care strategies, and to target those who might benefit most from formative care,” they wrote.

Predicting those MS patients most likely to progressively dwindle could allow for different and more humane care strategies, as well as the coordination of additional medical and social services.
MS Speaks--online for 17 years

SPMS, diagnosed 1980. Avonex 2001-2004. Copaxone 2007-2010. Glatopa (glatiramer acetate 40mg 3 times/week) since 12/16/20.

 

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