Causal effects of treatments on long-term disability outcomes in MS

Professor Tomas Kalincik

The University of Melbourne, VIC

February 2022

specialisation: Neurobiology

focus area: Better treatments

funding type: Project

project type: Investigator Led Research

Summary

Marginal structural models (MSM), a type of statistical model, are used to estimate causal links in observational/cohort data and therefore have been used to mimic clinical trials. However, there is an unmet need to broaden the current scope of what can be addressed by MSM, such as long-term effects of interventions, delayed effects of interventions and comparing multiple interventions.  

The research team have developed this project to extend the present capabilities of MSM to include studies beyond the capabilities of clinical trials. These methods will enable researchers to use real-life data to draw conclusions about long-term and delayed treatment effects and compare multiple therapies.  

Progress

Professor Tomas Kalincik and his team have assembled and quality-checked a dataset from MSBase, an international database consisting of real-world data on people with MS, to allow them to compare seven disease modifying therapies (DMTs) over time. The team have adopted analytical methods and study design features to allow simultaneous analysis of multiple MS therapies over time.  

Over the next 12 months, Professor Kalincik and his team will work on the dataset, using two complementary methods to compare the effectiveness of treatments. 

publications

Diouf I, Malpas CB, Sharmin S, et al. Effectiveness of multiple disease modifying therapies in relapsing-remittingmultiple sclerosis: causal inference to emulate a multi-arm randomised trial. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2023,94:1004-11 

Updated: 31 March 2024

lead investigator

total funding

$247,924

start year

2022

duration

3 years

STATUS

Current project

Stages of the research process

Fundamental laboratory Research

Laboratory research that investigates scientific theories behind the possible causes, disease progression, ways to diagnose and better treat MS.

Lab to clinic timeline

10+ years

Translational Research

Research that builds on fundamental scientific research to develop new therapies, medical procedures or diagnostics and advances it closer to the clinic.

Lab to clinic timeline

5+ years

Clinical Studies and Clinical Trials

Clinical research is the culmination of fundamental and translational research turning those research discoveries into treatments and interventions for people with MS.

Lab to clinic timeline

3+ years

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Rebekah Davenport

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Causal effects of treatments on long-term disability outcomes in MS