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Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Ruth Dobson, Queen Mary University of London, UK
- Second opponent: Professor Hanna-Maija Kuusisto, University of Eastern Finland
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Eirik Helseth, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor Morten Carstens Moe, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor II Elisabeth G. Celius, University of Oslo
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, neuroinflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Fatigue is a common symptom in MS that can occur at any time and at any stage of the disease.
In this thesis, Line Broch and colleagues present results from a large, cross-sectional survey of patients with MS in three Norwegian counties.
The overall aim was to ascertain the prevalence of fatigue in contemporary patients with MS and to obtain knowledge about the clinical, demographic and socioeconomic factors that may influence fatigue in MS.
In paper one, they establish the prevalence of fatigue in a contemporary cohort of patients with MS, and determine associations between fatigue and clinical and demographic factors.
In paper two, they explore the associations between fatigue and socioeconomic factors. They also explore the association between socioeconomic status in adolescence and fatigue later in life.
Fatigue in MS is in part believed to be caused by inflammation. Modern disease modifying treatment suppresses focal inflammation in MS, altering the course of the disease by reducing relapse rate and progression. In paper three, the authors seek to find if disease modifying treatment also improves fatigue.
The authors find that the prevalence of fatigue in MS remains high, particularly in women and in patients with advanced MS. Lower socioeconomic status is associated with a larger risk of having fatigue. On the other hand, highly active treatment for MS is not associated with less fatigue. Overall, these findings can help us improve the care of MS patients by increasing our ability to recognise patients at risk of developing fatigue. Ultimately, the results may help us devise strategies to reduce the burden of fatigue in patients with MS.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.