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Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trials: A Comprehensive System for the Measurement and Evaluation of Neurologic Function

  • Conference paper
Progress in Multiple Sclerosis Research

Abstract

Although many systems have been developed to measure the cognitive, sensory, and motor functions of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, few are as comprehensive as the Neurofunction Laboratory. Under development since 1960, the Neurofunction Laboratory presently consists of six different qualitative and quantitative evaluation systems for measuring and evaluating neurologic function. The Neurofunction Laboratory includes: (1) a quantitative neuropsychological examination; (2) an instrumented clinical quantitative neurologic examination; (3) a quantitative simulated activities of daily living examination; (4) a cerebral evoked response examination; (5) a video-neurologic assessment; and (6) a neurologist’s qualitative examination of neurologic function. In addition, a battery of clinical laboratory tests is included to evaluate organ systems and adversities. The instrumented tests have been evaluated for reliability and validity when administered by trained technicians, and for effects of motivation, learning, handedness, age, and sex. The Neurofunction Laboratory has been used in MS clinical trials to evaluate putative therapies. Methods have been developed to reduce data from clinical trials into composite neurologic functions vs time to facilitate the neurologist’s task of determining how near normal function a treatment brings a MS patient. In these ways, the Neurofunction Laboratory offers the neurologist a quantification of the nervous system that is not available with ordinal scale data and hence enables the clinician to assess more objectively the value of a therapeutic treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, 76019, USA

    A. R. Potvin & J. H. Potvin

  2. Neurology Service, VA Wadsworth Medical Center, The University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, 90073, USA

    W. W. Tourtellotte, K. Syndulko & R. W. Baumhefner

Authors
  1. A. R. Potvin
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  2. W. W. Tourtellotte
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  3. K. Syndulko
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  4. J. H. Potvin
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  5. R. W. Baumhefner
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurologische Klinik und Poliklinik, Neues Klinikum, Universität Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 3400, Göttingen, Germany

    H. J. Bauer , S. Poser  & G. Ritter ,  & 

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© 1980 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Potvin, A.R., Tourtellotte, W.W., Syndulko, K., Potvin, J.H., Baumhefner, R.W. (1980). Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trials: A Comprehensive System for the Measurement and Evaluation of Neurologic Function. In: Bauer, H.J., Poser, S., Ritter, G. (eds) Progress in Multiple Sclerosis Research. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-67554-6_116

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-67554-6_116

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-67556-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-67554-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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