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Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite
The Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC) is a clinical trial outcome measure of assessing the severity of multiple sclerosis primarily used in research. The score is based on a combination of timed tests of walking, arm function, and cognitive ability. It was developed over two years from 1994 to 1996 by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. MSFC was developed to improve the standard measure of MS disability for clinical trials and to create a multidimensional metric of overall MS clinical status. The evaluation includes a three-part performance scale: * Timed 25-Foot Walk (T25FT) - assessment of leg function by moving a short walking distance * 9-Hole Peg Test (9HPT) - assessment of arm function using breadboard test * Paced Auditory Serial Addition test Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) is a neuropsychological test used to assess capacity and rate of information processing and sustained and divided attention. Originally the test was known as the Pace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clinical Trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietary choices, dietary supplements, and medical devices) and known interventions that warrant further study and comparison. Clinical trials generate data on dosage, safety and efficacy. They are conducted only after they have received health authority/ethics committee approval in the country where approval of the therapy is sought. These authorities are responsible for vetting the risk/benefit ratio of the trial—their approval does not mean the therapy is 'safe' or effective, only that the trial may be conducted. Depending on product type and development stage, investigators initially enroll volunteers or patients into small pilot studies, and subsequently conduct progressively larger scale comparative studies. Clinical trials can vary i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outcome Measure
An outcome measure, endpoint, effect measure or measure of effect is a measure within medical practice or research, (primarily clinical trials) which is used to assess the effect, both positive and negative, of an intervention or treatment. Measures can often be quantified using effect sizes. Outcomes measures can be Patient-reported outcome, patient-reported, or gathered through laboratory tests such as Blood test, blood work, Clinical urine tests, urine samples etc. or through Physical examination, medical examination. Outcomes measures should be relevant to the target of the intervention (be it a single person or a target population). Depending on the design of a trial, outcome measures can be either primary outcomes, in which case the trial is designed around finding an adequate study size (through proper Random assignment, randomization and Statistical power, power calculation). Secondary or tertiary outcomes are outcome measures which are added after the design of the study is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to transmit signals, resulting in a range of signs and symptoms, including physical, mental, and sometimes psychiatric problems. Specific symptoms can include double vision, blindness in one eye, muscle weakness, and trouble with sensation or coordination. MS takes several forms, with new symptoms either occurring in isolated attacks (relapsing forms) or building up over time (progressive forms). In the relapsing forms of MS, between attacks, symptoms may disappear completely, although some permanent neurological problems often remain, especially as the disease advances. While the cause is unclear, the underlying mechanism is thought to be either destruction by the immune system ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to controlling sources of bias and error. These activities are characterized by accounting and controlling for biases. A research project may be an expansion on past work in the field. To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects or the project as a whole. The primary purposes of basic research (as opposed to applied research) are documentation, Discovery (observation), discovery, interpretation (philosophy), interpretation, and the research and development (R&D) of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. Approaches to research depend on epistemology, epistemologies, which vary considerably both within and between humanities and sciences. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step. This applies regardless of the usable number of limbs—even arthropods, with six, eight, or more limbs, walk. Difference from running The word ''walk'' is descended from the Old English ''wealcan'' "to roll". In humans and other bipeds, walking is generally distinguished from running in that only one foot at a time leaves contact with the ground and there is a period of double-support. In contrast, running begins when both feet are off the ground with each step. This distinction has the status of a formal requirement in competitive walking events. For quadrupedal species, there are numerous gaits which may be termed walking or running, and distinctions based upon the presence or absence of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cognitive Ability
Cognitive skills, also called cognitive functions, cognitive abilities or cognitive capacities, are brain-based skills which are needed in acquisition of knowledge, manipulation of information and reasoning. They have more to do with the mechanisms of how people learn, remember, solve problems and pay attention, rather than with actual knowledge. Cognitive skills or functions encompass the domains of perception, attention, memory, learning, decision making, and language abilities. Specialisation of functions Cognitive science has provided theories of how the brain works, and these have been of great interest to researchers who work in the empirical fields of brain science. A fundamental question is whether cognitive functions, for example visual processing and language, are autonomous modules, or to what extent the functions depend on each other. Research evidence points towards a middle position, and it is now generally accepted that there is ''a degree'' of modularity in aspects ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in New York City as the Association for Advancement of Research on Multiple Sclerosis on March 11, 1946 by Sylvia Lawry. Ms. Lawry was a lawyer looking for a cure for her brother, Bernard, who was afflicted with multiple sclerosis when she realized there is no foundation or organization that helps people with MS, so she founded NMSS. With chapters throughout the United States, the organization funds research, advocates for social and political change, provides education, and sponsors services that help people with multiple sclerosis and their families. In 2016, Forbes ranked the organization 63rd among the 100 largest U.S. charities. In 2017, Charity Navigator gave the organization three out of four stars. Research The NMSS supports and funds research activities in early research, translational research that develops laboratory results into treatments, and clinical trials to find out wheth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test
Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) is a neuropsychological test used to assess capacity and rate of information processing and sustained and divided attention. Originally the test was known as the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT). The subjects are given in the version used as part of the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite a number every 3 seconds and are asked to add the number they just heard with the number they heard before. This is a challenging task that involves working memory, attention and arithmetic capabilities. Versions with numbers presented every 2 seconds are also available. The original version presented the numbers every 2.4 seconds with 0.4 decrements for subsequent trials. The PASAT was originally developed for use in evaluating patients with head injury. The advantage in this population was supposed to be minimal practice effects. This test has been widely used in other conditions besides traumatic brain injury. Multiple sclerosis It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Z Scores
In statistics, the standard score is the number of standard deviations by which the value of a raw score (i.e., an observed value or data point) is above or below the mean value of what is being observed or measured. Raw scores above the mean have positive standard scores, while those below the mean have negative standard scores. It is calculated by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation. This process of converting a raw score into a standard score is called standardizing or normalizing (however, "normalizing" can refer to many types of ratios; see normalization for more). Standard scores are most commonly called ''z''-scores; the two terms may be used interchangeably, as they are in this article. Other equivalent terms in use include z-values, normal scores, standardized variables and pull in high energy physics. Computing a z-score requires knowledge of the mean and standard devi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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