July 10, 2004
Law & Health Weekly
Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVN) announced that information on a diagnostic scale used to identify pseudobulbar affect (PBA) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) was presented at the 2004 Annual Conference of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers held in Toronto, Canada.
The Center for Neurologic Study Lability Scale (CNS-LS) is a validated clinical tool used to diagnose patients with PBA and quantify aspects of PBA episodes.
Pseudobulbar affect affects patients with Alzheimer, MS, Lou Gehrig disease, Parkinson, traumatic brain injury and stroke, and is characterized by inappropriate, involuntary emotional outbursts.
In his presentation Measuring Pseudobulbar Affect in Multiple Sclerosis, Richard A. Smith explained that the CNS-LS is a self-report measure that quantifies MS patients' perceptions of frequency, degree of voluntary control, inappropriateness to context, and intensity of PBA episodes.
The CNS-LS is being utilized in an ongoing phase III clinical trial
examining the safety and efficacy of a drug candidate for the treatment
of PBA in MS patients conducted by Avanir Pharmaceuticals. There is no
drug specifically approved for treating PBA, although physicians sometimes
prescribe antidepressants to provide relief for the embarrassing and often
debilitating symptoms of the condition.
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