Serial Collection of Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Participants in the MURDOCK Study

Unlike Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) or Secondary Progressive Multiple
Sclerosis (SPMS) in which patients experience a remission or lessening of their symptoms,
Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) is characterized by progression of disability
from onset, with no, or only occasional and minor, remissions and improvements. The age of
onset for the primary progressive subtype is later than for the relapsing-remitting, but
similar to mean the age of progression between the relapsing-remitting and the secondary
progressive - around 40 years of age. Because of its prevalence, RRMS represents the largest
basis for basic and clinical MS research. Therefore, drugs have primarily been developed to
slow disease progression in RRMS and SPMS patients. No treatment has been proven successful
in treating primary progressive MS.

The MURDOCK-MS collection represents a unique opportunity to carry out detailed biomarker
research on PPMS patients and, to the knowledge of this investigator and his colleagues in
the field, would represent an exceptional cohort that is not available elsewhere in the US or
the rest of the world. Aside from first in disease sampling, the serial, biannual collection
of samples from PPMS patients would not only permit the identification of 'omic profiles that
can be compared and contrasted to those from RRMS patients in a parallel study, but it would
also allow the generation of 'omic markers of disease progression. This progressive etiology
would provide valuable insight into PPMS development and may also shed light on SPMS
progression.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Enrolled in the MURDOCK Study Horizon 1.5 (Pro00011196)

- Enrolled in the Multiple Sclerosis Cohort (Pro00023791)

- Diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

- At least 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

- Participants not willing to participate or sign informed consent