MS Relapses during COVID-19 Pandemic
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Reporting and Management of Multiple Sclerosis Relapses
IRAS ID
292110
Contact name
Nikos Evangelou
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottingham University Hospitals, NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NCT04858763, ClinicalTrials.gov
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, demyelinating and neurodegenerative condition of the central nervous system (CNS). Relapses are frequently inclusion criteria for participating in MS trials. Although most prominent in patients with relapsing-remitting MS, they also present in progressive MS. Recent treatment advances have led to more people with MS being effectively managed with early intensive medications, reducing the frequency of reported relapses. We want to investigate the true rate of reported relapses during a 3-month period in 2020 at the peak of the covid-19 pandemic to estimate an annualized relapse rate for the contemporary MS population. We will also compare the rate to the same period in 2019 to account for reporting bias caused by the pandemic. This will enable us to see the influence of the covid pandemic on the reporting of MS relapses and how they were subsequently managed in 2020 compared to 2019.
REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EM/0133
Date of REC Opinion
30 Jun 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion