A Study Evaluating the Effectiveness of Tecfidera (Dimethyl Fumarate) on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Disease Activity and Patient-Reported Outcomes

This is a validated, 29-item, MS-specific HRQoL scale that measures the physical (20 items) and psychological (9 items) impact of MS on the participant's day-to-day life during the previous 2 weeks. For each item, the subject is asked to circle the number that best describes his or her situation. The numbers for each item range from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely).

This scale consists of 5 statements that describe how fatigue may affect a person. For each statement, the participant is asked to circle the number that best indicates how often fatigue has affected him or her during the previous 4 weeks. The numbers for each question range from 0 (never) to 4 (almost always).

This is a validated, 14-item questionnaire that measures a participant's level of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with medication.

The widely validated EQ-5D includes 2 components, the EQ-5D descriptive system and the EQ VAS. The EQ-5D descriptive system provides a profile of the participant's health state in 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression). For each dimension, the subject is instructed to indicate whether he or she has "no problems" (level 1), "slight problems" (level 2), "moderate problems" (level 3), "severe problems (level 4), or "extreme problems/inability" (level 5) on that day. For the EQ VAS, the participant is instructed to mark an "x" on a vertical scale at the point that best describes his or her own health on that day, where 0 represents the "worst health" he or she can imagine and 100 the "best health" he or she can imagine.

This 15-item component of the PRIMUS assesses a participant's ability to carry out various activities of daily living during the previous week without the use of aids (e.g., cane, walker, or wheelchair) or assistance. For each item, the participant is asked whether he or she can perform the activity without difficulty or with difficulty, or is unable to perform the activity.

This 6-item instrument assesses employment status, and, during the previous 7 days, hours of missed work due to MS or other reasons, hours worked (if employed), effect on productivity due to MS while working, and activity impairment attributable to health problems.

This is a 7-item scale that evaluates depression in participants with medical illness during the prior 2 weeks. It has been validated in subjects with MS.

The EDSS measures disability status on a scale ranging from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating more disability. Scoring is based on measures of impairment in eight functional systems on examination by a neurologist.

A component of the EQ-5D, where participants are asked to rate their overall health-related quality of life on a standard vertical 20 cm visual analogue scale (similar to a thermometer) between 100 (best health imaginable) and 0 (worst health imaginable).