PAT-'eM
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prevention and therapy of multiple sclerosis by companion animals
IRAS ID
261959
Contact name
Laura Edwards
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease with disabling effects on strength, sensation, co-ordination, mood, cognition and continence, all of which can have significant impact on quality of life.
MS is thought to be due to an autoimmune response occurring in a genetically predisposed individual in response to some environmental trigger, particularly during adolescence. Previous studies have shown associations between exposure to pets or animals and reduction in autoimmune or allergic disease, including MS. We are keen to explore these associations more closely, and plan to use a postal questionnaire to question a cohort of people with MS (PwMS) about their exposure to animals through childhood and adolescence, and compare them to controls.
There is also evidence that pet ownership is good for mental and physical health, in health and illness. We will explore self-ratings of health, quality of life and self-efficacy, and compare these between pet-owning and non-pet-owning PwMS.
We hypothesise that:
a) Exposure to companion animals between the ages of 10-20 years is associated with a reduced risk of developing MS
b) Living with companion animals improves PwMS’s self-efficacy and quality of life.
We will distribute postal questionnaires to a cohort of over 3000 PwMS and controls to investigate these hypotheses. We hope the results will inform further work in the field of human-animal interactions and MS, with the ultimate aim of increasing beneficial human-animal interactions, reducing MS incidence and improving psychosocial wellbeing in PwMS.REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
19/IEC08/0051
Date of REC Opinion
22 Jan 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion