Skip to main content

COVID-19 Infection Not Linked to Changes in MS Symptom Severity

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Dec 26, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Dec. 26, 2024 -- COVID-19 infection is not associated with immediate changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) symptom severity or disability, according to a study published online Dec. 23 in Neurology.

Amber Salter, Ph.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues examined the association of COVID-19 infection with changes in the trajectory of MS symptoms, as measured using the SymptoMScreen (SMSS), and disability in a controlled interrupted time series.

Data were included from a COVID-19 infection cohort, composed of 796 participants with three or more surveys before and after the index survey, and an uninfected cohort of 1,336 participants who reported never having COVID-19 or other infections in the previous six months and had the requisite number of surveys completed. The researchers found that the SMSS score increased nominally over time in both cohorts and the change over time did not differ between cohorts before or after COVID-19 infection. Within the COVID-19 cohort, the immediate effect of COVID-19 infection on the SMSS total score was minimal, with no difference observed between cohorts. Similar findings were seen for disability.

"These findings enhance our general understanding of the consequences of infection in people with MS and are reassuring regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the course of MS," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Declining Childhood Vaccination May Increase Risk for Vaccine-Preventable Infections

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Declining childhood vaccination rates may increase outbreaks of eliminated vaccine-preventable infections within the United States, leading to a...

AACR: Incidence-Based Mortality Dropping for Young Women With Breast Cancer

TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- Incidence-based mortality (IBM) declined from 2010 to 2020 among women aged 20 to 49 years diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study presented...

AACR: Nonsurgical Treatment Feasible for Mismatch Repair-Deficient Tumors

TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- A neoadjuvant programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade enables nonoperative management among patients with early-stage mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.