On June 11, 2022, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) established a national Multiple Sclerosis (MS) registry, the Allied Demyelinating Disorders Registry and Research Network, and India Multiple Sclerosis System (IMSRN), and is the first nationally. network dedicated to database research on MS and related demyelinating disorders. “There is a great need to know the disease profile and outcomes of our patients, as well as to plan research in various domains of pathophysiology, causation, management and rehabilitation of these disorders,” said Balram Bhargava, CEO of ICMR.
Use of new therapies in relation to multiple sclerosis
Balram Bhargava has said that there are new approved drugs called “disease-modifying therapies” that are considered effective, among them autologous hematopoietic bone marrow transplantation is a breakthrough in the treatment of MS in selective cases.
MS is a neurological disorder that usually affects young people between the ages of 20 and 40, but it can also occur in children and adolescents.
Women are more affected by this disease than men. MS is estimated to affect about 20 people per lakh of population and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders (NMOSD) affect about 2.7 per lakh of population, although this may be an underestimate.
The registry will create an organized system for data collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, management, and results. The IMSRN was launched in October 2021, with AIIMS Delhi as the national focal point and 24 participating centers spread across the country.
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Speaking about the process, RS Dhaliwal, head of non-communicable diseases at ICMR, added that more than 1,000 patients have been recruited for this registry so far.
The registry will pave the way to bring together experts to generate ideas and research proposals focused on the pathophysiology, etiology and image of the disease, he stressed.
Source: IANS
