AAN 2025 | Bridging the gap between patient experience and outcome assessment in multiple sclerosis
Andreas Lysandropoulos, MD, PhD, Parexel, Durham, NC, discusses the gap between patient experience and outcome assessment in multiple sclerosis (MS) and highlights the importance of listening to patients’ concerns and experiences. He uses the example of patients with MS who reported cognitive issues, which were initially dismissed, but are now recognized as a significant aspect of the disease. Dr Lysandropoulos stresses the need to shift from a qualitative to a quantitative approach, enabling the measurement of these issues and ultimately improving patient care. This interview took place at the 77th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.
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Transcript
I think the most important thing is that we need to listen to patients, right? So yes, of course, we as medical doctors and the healthcare providers, we know a lot about the disease, we have experience working with patients, but sometimes I think we kind of, we do not focus on what some patients bring forward. I’m going to give an example. A couple of decades ago, patients living with multiple sclerosis would complain about cognitive issues, right, even early on in the disease...
I think the most important thing is that we need to listen to patients, right? So yes, of course, we as medical doctors and the healthcare providers, we know a lot about the disease, we have experience working with patients, but sometimes I think we kind of, we do not focus on what some patients bring forward. I’m going to give an example. A couple of decades ago, patients living with multiple sclerosis would complain about cognitive issues, right, even early on in the disease. And so sometimes people would not listen to them. They could think that they exaggerate, or they were not able to make these problems objective. Nowadays, we know that people living with multiple sclerosis might face cognitive decline early on. We know that there is correlation with MRI findings with the pathophysiology of the disease. The main objective here is to really listen to patients and find a way to move from the qualitative to quantitative approach, which means once we identify the new problems, find a way to be able to measure them. And so we use it in clinical research but also in clinical practice.
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Disclosures
Employee at Parexel.
