Serial Collection of Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Participants in the MURDOCK Study
Serial Collection of Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Participants in the MURDOCK Study
The goal of this study is to enroll 100 participants with Primary Progressive Multiple
 Sclerosis (PPMS) that have joined the MURDOCK Study Horizon 1.5 (Duke IRB Pro00011196) and
 the Multiple Sclerosis cohort (Duke IRB Pro00023791). All 100 participants will complete a
 biannual collection of a follow up questionnaire and blood/urine collection for a period of 5
 years.
Unlike Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) or Secondary Progressive Multiple
 Sclerosis (SPMS) in which patients experience a remission or lessening of their symptoms,
 Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) is characterized by progression of disability
 from onset, with no, or only occasional and minor, remissions and improvements. The age of
 onset for the primary progressive subtype is later than for the relapsing-remitting, but
 similar to mean the age of progression between the relapsing-remitting and the secondary
 progressive - around 40 years of age. Because of its prevalence, RRMS represents the largest
 basis for basic and clinical MS research. Therefore, drugs have primarily been developed to
 slow disease progression in RRMS and SPMS patients. No treatment has been proven successful
 in treating primary progressive MS.

 The MURDOCK-MS collection represents a unique opportunity to carry out detailed biomarker
 research on PPMS patients and, to the knowledge of this investigator and his colleagues in
 the field, would represent an exceptional cohort that is not available elsewhere in the US or
 the rest of the world. Aside from first in disease sampling, the serial, biannual collection
 of samples from PPMS patients would not only permit the identification of 'omic profiles that
 can be compared and contrasted to those from RRMS patients in a parallel study, but it would
 also allow the generation of 'omic markers of disease progression. This progressive etiology
 would provide valuable insight into PPMS development and may also shed light on SPMS
 progression.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Enrolled in the MURDOCK Study Horizon 1.5 (Pro00011196)

 -  Enrolled in the Multiple Sclerosis Cohort (Pro00023791)

 -  Diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

 -  At least 18 years of age

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Participants not willing to participate or sign informed consent