Improving early Multiple Sclerosis treatment by emphasizing the patient need
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, with complications ranging from fatigue to the inability to walk. Promising programmes to identify and treat Multiple Sclerosis in early stages are currently being developed. Literature shows that patients and their health care providers value different treatment outcomes. In order to get more effective and personalised treatments, the authors emphasize the need for improved communication between health care providers and their patients, and taking the patients’ preferences into account.
Sylvia Martin is the lead author of the study.
The systematic literature review is published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. It provides an overview of the preferences and attitudes of patients and healthcare providers in early treatment of the disease to inform more effective and personalised prevention and treatment.
Current early treatments extend beyond so called Disease-Modifying Therapies, and includes non-pharmacological interventions like diet, exercise, psychological support and lifestyle modifications. But the attitudes and preferences regarding early treatments vary between patients and their health care providers. Previous research shows that patients with Multiple Sclerosis, the most important thing is improving quality of life, including cognitive health, reducing disability and minimizing side effects. Health care providers on the other hand, is prioritizing symptom reduction.
Patients express that they are often wrongfully treated as a uniform group, even though they have different disability levels, previous treatment experiences and use of psychological support. Moreover, patients consider their general practitioner as their primary and most trusted healthcare provider for managing their disease. Meanwhile, the general practitioners themselves do not perceive that they have a central role in the Multiple Sclerosis care.
The authors identify a communication gap between patients and health care providers. The patients lack understanding of the disease, which influence their decision-making in the treatment process. “This shows that improving the communication between health care providers and patients, and emphasizing the patients’ preferences, is needed in order to get more effective and personalised treatments”, says Sylvia Martin, researcher at the Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics, and lead author of the article.
Do you want to know more? Read the article: Martin, S., Kihlbom, U., Pasquini G. et al. Preferences and attitudes regarding early intervention in multiple sclerosis: A systematic literature review. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders 92 (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2024.106143
By Fanny Klingvall