title: Primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
abstract: The progressive phase of multiple sclerosis (MS) is the one most often associated with irreversible accumulation of disability. An important question remains about the place of primary progressive MS (PP-MS): does it form an integral part of the disease spectrum, or is it maybe a distinct entity? This question could apparently be very theoretical, but it is not, as patients with PP-MS remain orphans when regarding disease-modifying treatments. Thus, they are usually excluded from therapeutic trials. A clue to this question could be the comparison between the different MS subtypes with a progressive phase. We discuss here the clinical similarities and differences between secondary and primary progressive MS.
authors.affiliation: European Database for Multiple Sclerosis (EDMUS) Coordinating Center and Service de Neurologie A, Hôpital Neurologique, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 59 Boulevard Pinel, Lyons Cedex 03, 69394, France. sandra.vukusic@chu-lyon.fr
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vukusic
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Confavreux
mesh_terms: D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D020528:Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis