Making it Personal: Identifying Personalised Triggers of Fatigue in MS

This research study aims to discover factors that worsen feelings of fatigue in people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Most research studies explore topics like this using scientific approaches that report the average results of a group of people, rather than the results for an individual.  

‘Group-based’ approaches are typically used in MS research and the data collected is assumed to represent all individuals with MS. Due to an emphasis on group-based approaches, there is a lack of knowledge about how and why fatigue symptoms fluctuate from day to day in individuals.  

Dr Suzanne McDonald and her coinvestigators will use ‘N-of-1’ methods to identify personalised patterns and triggers of fatigue in individuals with MS. N-of-1 studies involve repeated outcome measurements in the same individual over time, to draw conclusions specific to that individual.  

She will explore personal patterns and triggers of fatigue by asking people with MS and fatigue to take part in a 6-week N-of-1 study, where they will be required to answer a few brief questions about fatigue and triggers on a daily basis.  

It is important to explore whether people with MS will be able and willing to participate in N-of-1 research. Therefore, participants will be interviewed at the end of the study to find out their views about the study design and procedures. If the methods are found to be feasible and acceptable to people with MS, the N-of-1 design can be extended to testing treatments for MS symptoms at the individual patient level, providing personalised results for each patient.