Experts in Nottingham are leading a major new study into how people with multiple sclerosis (MS) could overcome problems with attention and memory associated to their condition.
The Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory in people with Multiple Sclerosis (CRAMMS) trial will evaluate the effectiveness of new strategies to improve and compensate for these difficulties and aims to improve the quality of life for the patient.
The trial is being led by Nadina Lincoln, Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Division of Rehabilitation and Ageing at The University of Nottingham and Dr Roshan das Nair, consultant clinical psychologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and honorary Associate Professor in the University's Division of Rehabilitation and Ageing.
Funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme, the trial will begin recruiting participants later this month.
Professor Lincoln said: "The purpose of our research is to help people with multiple sclerosis boost their everyday memory so they can get on with their lives and do the things that people take for granted, for example remembering to pick their children up from school, turning the stove off, or knowing where they have put things.
"It will also provide them with strategies to enable them to concentrate on information without getting distracted."
Memory and attention problems are common complaints for those who have multiple sclerosis. More than 100,000 people in the UK have multiple sclerosis and of these, 50,000 will have problems with attention and memory at some stage in the progression of their condition.
Very few people with multiple sclerosis get treatment for cognitive problems in usual clinical practice, despite some evidence that cognitive rehabilitation may help reduce problems in attention and everyday forgetting. However, cognitive rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis has not been demonstrated to be effective or cost-effective in large-scale randomised controlled trials.
The study will be exploring the benefits of using internal memory aids, such as mnemonics - using patterns, words and images to remember details - and external aids, such as diaries, mobile phones and cameras. The researchers will also be looking for other imaginative ways to help improve memory and reduce forgetting.
The study is being conducted in collaboration with Swansea University, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, The Walton Centre NHS Trust, and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust.
They will recruit 400 volunteers, aged 16 to 69 years, from NHS hospitals, rehabilitation centres, multiple sclerosis charities, and web forums. About half the volunteers will then receive a 10-week group intervention at one of the study centres in Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool and Birmingham. The groups will focus on strategies to improve attention and to reduce memory problems in daily life. The remaining volunteers will continue to receive their existing level of care.
If this study confirms the benefits of cognitive rehabilitation it could lead to a change in clinical practice in the NHS and abroad. The researchers will also use questionnaires to determine the cost-effectiveness of this intervention, and to get feedback from those taking part in the trial to establish if intervention improved their quality of life.