24/10/2011

Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (CEM-Cat) has been chosen by the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform as one of the centers participating in the project EUReMS, the European Register of multiple sclerosis patients. Jaume Sastre Garriga, neurologist, and specialist in preventive medicine Susana Otero, from CEM-Cat and the group of clinical neuroimmunology at Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) will be responsible for developing the project at CEM-Cat.Worldwide there are 2.5 million people affected by multiple sclerosis, a quarter of whom live in Europe. The European Register of Multiple Sclerosis (EUReMS), which aims to collect comparable and reliable data on multiple sclerosis in Europe, aims to fill some gaps in the understanding and treatment of this disease. The European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP), an umbrella organization of associations of MS in 34 countries, is coordinating the project EUReMS, conducted by a multidisciplinary team of physicians, researchers from the fields of computer science and statistics and patient groups across Europe.The European Commission has provided nearly one million euros to go ahead with the EUReMS project in the next 3 years. The goal is that on June 2014, EUReMS has gathered informations of the national registries from 10 different countries through the collaboration of several groups of experts. The long-term challenge is to provide a record of all European countries, including those who currently do not have databases. Detailed information on patients and the incidence of the disease in each region could provide new insights into the causes and history of the disease. EUReMS wishes that the collection of clinical information can provide, at medium-long term, large-scale independent data on the comparative safety and efficacy of drugs.