Multiple Sclerosis: Setting Priorities

International Survey on Research Priorities for Cochrane Systematic Reviews on Multiple Sclerosis

In 2020, we started an international priority-setting project with the aim of identifying the most relevant topics in MS healthcare by evaluating research questions that should be addressed in future systematic reviews. Topics were identified and ranked through an anonymous, web-based questionnaire. We asked respondents to rank thier priorities from a list of 16 questions suggested by a multi-stakeholder panel, as well as suggesting additional topics that they thought were missing from the list.

We were very pleased by the response: 1.190 questionnaires were completed, with responses coming from 55 countries worldwide mainly from people with multiple sclerosis and their families as well as healthcare professionals.

We are happy to announce that the first set of results have been published [1]. For a limited time, please access using this link. Otherwise please contact us.

The analysis of the ranking given to proposed topics by respondents indicated the following five questions as priorities. The group is now working on or planning systematic reviews relating to these topics.

Does MRI help predict disability worsening of PwMS?

- under development

What are the benefits and harms of treating PwMS with one disease-modifying drug compared to another?

- Immunomodulators and immunosuppressants for progressive multiple sclerosis: a network meta‐analysis.
- Immunomodulators and immunosuppressants for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a network meta-analysis, a forthcoming update.
- Adverse effects of immunotherapies for multiple sclerosis: a network meta‐analysis.

Does psychological health affect disease progression in PwMS?

- under development

Does multidisciplinary care by teams of different social and health professionals improve health outcomes and experiences for PwMS?

- under development

What are the benefits and harms of exercise for PwMS?

 - Exercise therapy for fatigue in multiple sclerosis

Future work will concentrate on an analysis of free-text responses to supplement the list above. 

This work was presented as a poster at Cochrane Colloquium 2023 (PDF).

[1] Maria Grazia Celani, Francesco Nonino, Kathryn Mahan et al. Identifying unanswered questions and setting the agenda for future systematic research in Multiple Sclerosis. A worldwide, multi-stakeholder Priority Setting project, Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, Volume 60, 2022, 103688, ISSN 2211-0348, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2022.103688.