Bonino S, Graziano F, Borghi M, et al The Self-Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis (SEMS) Scale: Development and Validation With Rasch Analysis. European Journal of Psychological Assessment. 2015; doi: 10.1027/1015-5759/a000350.
Bowen J, Gibbons L, Gianas A, Kraft GH Self-administered Expanded Disability Status Scale with functional system scores correlates well with a physician-administered test. Mult Scler. 2001 Jun;7(3):201-6. doi: 10.1177/135245850100700311.
Connor KM, Davidson JR Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depress Anxiety. 2003;18(2):76-82. doi: 10.1002/da.10113.
Giovannini C, Giromini L, Bonalume L, et al The Italian Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire: A Contribution to its Validity and Reliability. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 2014; 36.doi: 10.1007/s10862-013-9403-0.
Leventhal H, Benyamini Y, Brownlee S, et al Illness representations: Theoretical foundations. In K. J. Petrie & J. A. Weinman (Ed.), Perceptions of health and illness: Current research and applications (p. 19-45). Reading, UK: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1997.
Leventhal H, Nerenz DR, Steele DS Illness representations and coping with health threats. In: Baum, A. Taylor, S.E. and Singer, J.E. (Eds.), Handbook of psychology and health. Vol. IV. pp. 219-252. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1984.
McCracken LM, Chilcot J, Norton S Further development in the assessment of psychological flexibility: a shortened Committed Action Questionnaire (CAQ-8). Eur J Pain. 2015 May;19(5):677-85. doi: 10.1002/ejp.589. Epub 2014 Sep 2.
McCracken LM Committed action: an application of the psychological flexibility model to activity patterns in chronic pain. J Pain. 2013 Aug;14(8):828-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2013.02.009. Epub 2013 May 4.
Pain D, Miglioretti M, Angelino, E Development of Italian version of brief-IPQ (Illness perception questionnaire, short version), a method for assessing the illness representations. Psicologia della Salute. 2006. 81-89.
Penner IK, Raselli C, Stocklin M, Opwis K, Kappos L, Calabrese P The Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions (FSMC): validation of a new instrument to assess multiple sclerosis-related fatigue. Mult Scler. 2009 Dec;15(12):1509-17. doi: 10.1177/1352458509348519. Epub 2009 Dec 7.
Prezza M, Principato MC La rete e il sostegno sociale. In: Prezza M, Santinello M, eds. Conoscere la comunit . Bologna. Italy: Il Mulino, 2002: 193-233.
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
