Richard Rudick, MD

“We think this is going to change everything because we really have not focused on cognition [in MS]. ”

Cognitive issues, while not a guaranteed outcome for those with multiple sclerosis (MS), can arise in later years. And as the treatment field progresses, there has been a shift toward addressing this possibility in order to prevent patients from needing to deal with these symptoms.

MS PATHS, an ongoing program aimed at collecting as much high-quality data in MS as possible, has brought forth some important information already pertaining to cognition. Collecting data from the Processing Speed Test, the research group has been able to develop the CogEval app to help physicians gain further insight into the cognitive status of their patients. 

At the 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Berlin, Germany, Biogen announced the application would now be available worldwide in several languages, opening the tool to more people than ever. 

The goal, according to Richard Rudick, MD, the vice president of Medical Research at Biogen, is to make cognitive assessments routine in MS. Rudick shared the news and further insight into the application with 

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The goal of the free application is to make cognitive assessments routine in multiple sclerosis treatment.

Richard Rudick, MD: The CogEval App in Clinical Practice

“We’re moving rapidly toward standardizing high-quality data…that’s going to be the key to personalized medicine in MS”

As technology advances and data collection becomes more complex, the way data is utilized in medicine has changed quickly. With medicine as a whole trending toward developing personalized care and using real-world data, an intersection of the 2 is impending.

Advocating for that intersection is Richard Rudick, MD, the vice president of Medical Research at Biogen. In part, this is due to the MS PATHS program currently being undertaken by Biogen and several partnered academic centers. The program is a learning health system, allowing patients to submit their own assessments to compile an aggregated and standardized pool of clinical information. Currently consisting of 14,000 patients, the program includes outcomes, imaging, and laboratory data to build out a comprehensive tool for clinicians.

At the 34th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Berlin, Germany, Rudick sat with NeurologyLive to discuss the increasing role of data in MS care and what MS PATHS is doing to help.

The vice president of Medical Research at Biogen spoke about the intersection between high-quality data utilization and individualized medicine in multiple sclerosis.

Richard Rudick, MD

Articles

Richard Rudick, MD: The CogEval App in Clinical Practice

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