Of course, the sophisticated technology of the 1990s was not limited to medicine. There were quantum leaps in computers as well. During the “Decade of the Brain” computer scientists built the information super-highway and wove the Internet. Faster, better communications and data analysis brought MS doctors and researchers from all over the world together—in increasingly powerful coalitions. Large databases were assembled to track and analyze thousands of patient histories to clarify their disease variations and their responses to treatment. We were able to identify characteristic patterns of MS. MS clinics and research laboratories are now linked. And MS research groups such as the Americas and European Committees for Treatment and Research in MS (ACTRIMS and ECTRIMS) share and evaluate new findings.

Computer technology now benefits not only researchers but also people affected by MS. Anyone with access to the Internet can tap into networks of information and support. The Internet has become a marvelous window to the world, accessible to people at virtually every level of ability.

Reference

Written by Loren A. Rolak, MD. Reproduced by permission from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, USA. © NMSS, 2003