Sourcing reliable information on treatments for MS – Cochrane Reviews

Identifying unbiased and reliable sources of information on treatment options and ways to live well with MS is of major importance for people with MS, but can often be an overwhelming exercise.

Early data arising from the ongoing MSRA-funded IN-DEEP study lead by Dr Sophie Hill at La Trobe University into the treatment information needs of people with MS and their families (further information here) shows that health professionals (in particular neurologists) and MS societies are trusted sources of information for many. However, to aid the decision-making process, people with MS often compare and analyse information from a variety of other information sources.

The Internet is a major source of information for many people with MS and their family members however sifting through it can be overwhelming and many expressed scepticism or uncertainty about the quality of online health information.

The Cochrane Collaboration can provide one avenue of information on trials and treatments that has already been synthesised and analysed to provide a consensus review of the data available.

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international, independent not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare readily available worldwide. It produces and disseminates systematic reviews of healthcare interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. The Collaboration consists of specialist groups of health professionals and researchers who work together to produce independent, peer-reviewed, systematic reviews of the trial data in a particular health or medical research area. The resulting reviews are published in the online Cochrane Library.

The Cochrane Library currently contains over 40 reviews relating to MS including the immune-based MS treatments, non-pharmacological treatments and treatments for symptoms of MS. A number of other reviews are currently underway and the protocol for these reviews also appears in the Cochrane Library listing. A plain language summary is provided with each review, with the choice to drill down deeper into the information contained in the full article.

The reviews on MS can be accessed by typing multiple sclerosis into the search box on the Cochrane Library homepage.

Information on the members of the Cochrane Multiple Sclerosis and Rare Diseases of the Central Nervous System Group can be found here.