We would like to acknowledge the contributions of Drs. Steven Schwid, Carl Granger, Cornelia Mihai, Christopher Christodoulou, Neeta Garg, Kara Patrick, and Deepon P. Singh. Biogen provided funding for editorial support in the development of this paper, and Ray Hunziker (ProEd Communications, Inc.) copyedited and styled the manuscript per journal requirements. Biogen reviewed and provided feedback on the paper to the authors. The authors had full editorial control of the paper, and provided their final approval of all content.
Funding
Biogen provided support for publication of this report.
Availability of data and materials
Availability of data and materials will not be made available in order to protect the participant’s identity.
Authors’ contributions
RZ, BW-G, and DLC substantially contributed to the concept and design of the study. RZ and DLC performed the statistical analysis. RZ and DLC drafted the first version of the article. BW-G, LK, AEM, NL, PKC, ADG, BJ, ML, JH, MG, DHS, BRA, BET, ABP, and FM were responsible for recruitment and accrual of data for the registry and revised the article critically for important intellectual content. All authors had access to the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Authors’ information
Not applicable.
Competing interests
Dr. Zivadinov received personal compensation from Teva Pharmaceuticals, Biogen, EMD Serono, Novartis, Claret Medical, and Sanofi-Genzyme for presentation and consultant fees, and has received financial support for research activities from Biogen, Teva Pharmaceuticals, EMD Serono, Novartis, Claret Medical, Greatbatch, and Sanofi-Genzyme.
Dr. Weinstock-Guttman has participated in speaker’s bureaus and served as a consultant for Biogen, Teva Neurosciences, EMD Serono, Pfizer, Novartis, Genzyme, and Acorda. She also has received grant/research support from the agencies listed above as well as Questcor. No other industry financial relationships exist.
Dr. Cookfair has received compensation from Buffalo Neuroimaging and Analysis Center (BNAC) as part of a contractual agreement to conduct statistical analyses on this and other projects for BNAC. No other financial/competing relationships to declare.
Dr. Krupp reports no disclosures.
Dr. Miller is a consultant for Acorda, Biogen, CVS Caremark, EMD Serono, Genzyme/Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Questcor, Roche, and Teva and has received research support from Acorda, Biogen, Genentech, Novartis, Questcor, and Roche.
Dr. Lava received research support from Biogen, Sanofi-Genzyme, and Roche.
Dr. Coyle has served as a consultant for AbbVie, Accordant, Acorda Therapeutics, Bayer, Biogen, Genentech/Roche, Genzyme/Sanofi, Novartis, EMD Serono, and Teva. Dr. Coyle’s employer, Stony Brook University Medical Center, has received research support for conducting clinical trials from Actelion, Novartis, and Opexa.
Dr. Goodman received personal compensation for consulting from the following commercial entities: Acorda Therapeutics, Biogen, EMD-Serono, Genzyme-sanofi, GW Pharma, Novartis, Purdue, Teva, and Vaccinex. Dr. Goodman’s employer, the University of Rochester, received research support for conducting clinical trials from the following commercial entities: Acorda Therapeutics, Avanir, Biogen, EMD-Serono, Genzyme-sanofi, Novartis, Ono, Roche, Sun Pharma, Teva.
Dr. Jubelt has received grant support from Sanofi-Aventis, Genzyme, Novartis, NY Stem Cell Program, NINDS/MediciNova, Inc., and Biogen is a consultant for Teva Neuroscience and Genzyme, and holds patents/royalty for UpToDate. He is also a lecturer for CMEducation Resources LLC, Prime Education, Inc., National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Multiple Sclerosis Resources of Central New York.
Dr. Lenihan reports no disclosures.
Dr. Herbert reports no disclosures.
Dr. Gottesman has received consulting fees from Biogen, Teva, and Genzyme.
Dr. Snyder reports no disclosures.
Dr. Apatoff has received consulting fees from Biogen, Teva, and Genzyme.
Dr. Teter has received research grant support from Biogen, Teva Neurosciences, EMD Serono, Avanir, Genzyme, and Novartis.
Dr. Perel reports no disclosures.
Dr. Munschauer is a former employee of Biogen and a current employee of EMD Serono.
Consent for publication
All authors consented the right for publication.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The study was approved by the relevant Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) of the participating centers and written informed consent was obtained by all study participants prior to enrollment in the NYSMSC registry. The IRB renewals were obtained annually on an ongoing basis throughout the study.