MS awareness week - a decade of TONiC

Ten years ago, the TONiC study started at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust. A national study examining the factors that influence quality of life in patients with neurological conditions, it is one of the largest studies on quality of life in neurological conditions ever performed in the UK.

Focused primarily on multiple sclerosis (MS) and motor neurone disease (MND), it has over 40 recruiting sites across the UK.

Professor Carolyn Young, Consultant Neurologist at The Walton Centre, and lead for the study, said “We hope that TONiC will have a significant and positive impact on the lives of all patients that suffer from neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease, regardless of symptoms, stage of illness, age or social status.”

Phase 4 of the study is currently ongoing – a longitudinal study for patients who are within one year of their diagnosis at the time they first entered the TONiC study. These patients are asked to complete a questionnaire at different time points over the course of five years. This will examine the long term effects of neurological conditions on quality of life, about which little is currently known.

The team is also examining the impact on quality of life of a new form of treatment. Patients currently receiving natalizumab through injection rather than infusion can apply to join TONiC and look at the effect this new form of treatment has on their quality of life.