This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by McDonnell, G. Articles by Hawkins, S. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by McDonnell, G. Articles by Hawkins, S. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Primary progressive multiple sclerosis: a distinct syndrome?

Research Fellow in Neurology, Royal Victoria Hospital

SA Hawkins

Research Fellow in Neurology, Royal Victoria Hospital

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been recognised to have both a relapsing-remitting and progressive course. More recently patients with progressive disease have been further sub-divided into those with a progressive course from onset (primary progressive MS) and those with progressive decline following an initially relapsing-remitting period (secondary progressive MS). Diversity in MS may not however be restricted to clinical course. There is growing evidence that the subgroups of MS also differ with respect to clinical features, epidemiology, pathogenesis, genetics and neuroimaging appearances. In this review we outline the criteria variously applied in the classification of MS patients, addressing the need for a dear nomenclature. We evaluate the proposition that primary progressive MS has a prof ile distinct from other MS categories, contrasting the separate differential diagnoses and examining the implications for future therapeutic trials.

Key Words: primary progressive multiple sclerosis • classification • epidemiology • genetics • differential diagnosis • magnetic resonance imaging • therapeutics

Multiple Sclerosis, Vol. 2, No. 3, 137-141 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/135245859600200304


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Confavreux and S. Vukusic Natural history of multiple sclerosis: a unifying concept Brain, March 1, 2006; 129(3): 606 - 616. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.M. Leary, D.H. Miller, V.L. Stevenson, P.A. Brex, D.T. Chard, and A.J. Thompson Interferon {beta}-1a in primary progressive MS: An exploratory, randomized, controlled trial Neurology, January 14, 2003; 60(1): 44 - 51. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R Egg, M Reindl, F Deisenhammer, C Linington, and T Berger Anti-MOG and anti-MBP antibody subclasses in multiple sclerosis Multiple Sclerosis, October 1, 2001; 7(5): 285 - 289. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M Kremenchutzky, D Lee, G P A Rice, and G C Ebers Diagnostic brain MRI findings in primary progressive multiple sclerosis Multiple Sclerosis, April 1, 2000; 6(2): 81 - 85. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H F Petereit, N Richter, R Pukrop, and S Bamborschke Interferon gamma production in blood lymphocytes correlates with disability score in multiple sclerosis patients Multiple Sclerosis, February 1, 2000; 6(1): 19 - 23. [Abstract] [PDF]