Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

There are several aspects to the concept of risk behavior in MS patients. Foremost is their attitude to novel immunotherapies with the attendant short and long term hazards. Related to this, is their concern about everyday risks to health before disease onset. Finally, there is the behavior pattern of patients once they have the disease and its impact on lifestyle. These aspects of riskrelated behavior have been studied relatively little. An initial study by Prosser et al. (2002) addressed the attitude to medication risk in MS and explored why many patients who were eligible for beta-interferon or glatiramer acetate chose to forgo or discontinue treatment. Sixty-two patients with MS completed a survey on risk preference, and risk attitude was measured using an in-house standard gamble question on shortterm health outcomes. It was found that risk-taking patients were less likely to choose standard treatment compared to risk-averse patients. In other words the more risk-seeking an individual is,