Aim: To evaluate adherence, healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs for glatiramer acetate (GA; injectable), dimethyl fumarate (oral) and teriflunomide (oral) in relapsing multiple sclerosis. Patients & methods: Retrospective analyses of a claims database. Results: Teriflunomide patients were older with more co-morbidities and fewer relapses versus GA and dimethyl fumarate. GA patients were mostly disease-modifying therapies (DMTs)-treatment naive. Treatment adherence was 61-70%. All DMTs reduced HRU versus pre-index. Costs were comparable across cohorts. High adherence reduced hospitalizations and several costs versus low adherers. Conclusion: Adherence rates were high and comparable with all DMTs. Similar (and high) reductions in HRU and costs occurred with all DMTs. High adherence improved economic outcomes versus low adherence. Thus, investing in adherence improvement is beneficial to improve outcomes in relapsing multiple sclerosis.
Aim: To examine three different accuracy metrics for evaluation of cognitive screening instruments: overall correct classification accuracy (Acc), the sum of true positives and negatives divided by the total number tested; balanced accuracy (balanced Acc), half of the sum of sensitivity and specificity; and unbiased accuracy (unbiased Acc), removing biasing effects of random associations between test results and disease prevalence. Materials & methods: Data from a prospective test accuracy study of Mini-Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination were used to calculate and plot the Acc measures. Results: Each Acc metric resulted in a similar pattern of results across the range of Mini-Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination cut-offs for diagnosis of both dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Acc and balanced Acc gave more optimistic outcomes (closer to possible maximum value of 1) than unbiased Acc. Conclusion: Unbiased Acc may have advantages over Acc and balanced Acc by removing biasing effects of random associations between test result and disease prevalence.
Aim: To evaluate a low carbohydrate/healthy fat/ketogenic diet (LCHF/KD) on symptoms, depression, anxiety and biomarkers in adults with Parkinson's disease (PD). Patients & methods: 16 adults ages 36-80 with PD participated in the intervention for 12 weeks. The study provided pre-post-study comparisons of biomarkers, weight, waist measurement, united Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Parkinson's Anxiety Scale (PAS) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised-20 (CESD-R-20) Depression Scale. Results: Although LCHF/KD improves blood glucose in diabetes and seizure control in epilepsy, research gaps exist in this dietary intervention in PD. Statistically, significant improvements occurred in several measurements, PAS scores and Part I of the UPDRS. Conclusion: The LCHF/KD shows positive trends with improvements in biomarkers and anxiety symptoms. Further research is needed to evaluate dietary interventions for PD.