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An electronic copy of the thesis may be ordered from the faculty up to 2 days prior to the public defence. Inquiries regarding the thesis after the public defence must be addressed to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Klaus Schmierer, Queen Mary University of London
- Second opponent: Associate Professor Melinda Magyari, University of Copenhagen
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor II Morten C. Moe, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor Hanne Cathrine Lie, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor II Elisabeth Gulowsen Celius, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo
Summary
The prognosis for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients has traditionally been considered poor, with one seminal paper from 1989 citing a time from disease onset to the need for a cane of 15 years. However, much has happened since Jean Marie Charcot first described the clinical and pathophysiological features of MS in 1868. The world of MS has been through an unimaginable evolution in just a few decades. The overall aim of this dissertation is to highlight some of the aspects that have contributed to better disease outcome in contemporary MS patients, and how we can improve these even further. We did this by creating an MS registry of a near-complete and geographically well-defined population, BOT-MS. We have described how advances in knowledge on disease phenotypes, diagnosis and treatment have contributed to an improved disease course over the past two decades. We also added information on the relatively novel concept of the “MS prodrome”, thereby further elucidating a possible new disease phenotype. In addition, we showed the value of the IgG index in diagnosing MS. Finally, we demonstrated the importance of high efficacy disease modifying therapy as early treatment for MS compared to an escalation approach.
Additional information
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