EMPOWER stands for Evaluating Multiple Sclerosis Patients ShOWing A GEnomic Signature of Therapy Response.

Markers in blood reveal important and personalized information that can help monitor treatment response and screen for patients unlikely to benefit from certain therapies. The goal of EMPOWER is to develop an at-home blood test that will help doctors monitor Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disease activity and response to treatment at a biological level.

EMPOWER participants will provide health information and a few drops of blood collected with an at-home fingerstick kit, along with completing online surveys.

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Opportunity to Better Manage Multiple Sclerosis

There are 400,000 Americans living with Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic condition that affects the central nervous system. MS onset, progression and response to treatment is very individualized and can range widely from person to person.

The main types of Multiple Sclerosis include:

  • Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS), the most common disease course affecting about 85% of people diagnosed with MS in which the disease attacks new or increasing neurologic symptoms followed by partial or complete remission.
  • Primary-Progressive MS (PPMS) occurs in about 15% of people with MS. PPMS is characterized by slowly worsening symptoms from the beginning, with no relapses or remissions.
  • Secondary-Progressive MS (SPMS). In SPMS, symptoms worsen more steadily over time, with or without the occurrence of relapses and remissions. Most people who are diagnosed with RRMS will transition to SPMS at some point.

Additionally, there is Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS), which is a first episode of neurologic symptoms caused by inflammation and demyelination in the central nervous system characteristic of MS, but doesn’t meet the criteria for diagnosing MS.

Numerous MS drugs are available, but their degree of benefit to each patient may vary. The ability to predict how or if a particular patient will respond to a given therapy could help doctors and individuals with MS better manage, and even get ahead of, their disease.

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Who is the Study Sponsor?

EMPOWER is sponsored by DxTerity, a Los Angeles based genomics company – that is, a company that studies DNA and RNA to better understand diseases like Multiple Sclerosis. At DxTerity, we believe that regular, at-home disease monitoring based on your genomics and personal health information can dramatically improve the management of your disease.

Our goal for the future – those diagnosed with MS will have the knowledge, treatments and power to live life confidently.