A longitudinal analysis of real world symptom tracking and patient-reported outcomes in Brisa, a German Digital Health App for multiple sclerosis.
In a study involving 4,194 users of the Brisa app, most participants were young females with relapsing-remitting MS. Notably, there was a significant uptick in the use of high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies among newly diagnosed users between 2023 and 2024/2025, while symptom and patient-reported outcome scores tended to remain stable over time for users who tracked symptoms for at least a year.
- Tags
- #Other
- Most relevant to
- —
- Human efficacy
- Not yet assessed
- Mechanism
- Not yet assessed
- Evidence strength
- Not yet assessed
- Outcome
- Not yet assessed
Why it matters
These findings shed light on engagement patterns and treatment trends among MS patients, suggesting that digital health tools can effectively monitor symptom reporting and therapeutic usage.
What this does not prove
This is a retrospective analysis; it does not prove causation or any treatment effects and lacks a control group or specific intervention analysis.
Next milestone
No next milestone was established from the available source.
Study facts
- Study design
- Observational
- Participants / samples
- 4194 · Total users analyzed in the study.
- Randomised
- No
- Controlled
- Not reported
- Primary endpoint met
- Not reported
- Relevant MS type
- RRMS
- Publication date
- 2026-10-13
- Evidence reviewed
- Abstract only
- Regulatory approval
- Not reported
- Research areas
- Other
Original sources
- Primary evidenceA longitudinal analysis of real world symptom tracking and patient-reported outcomes in Brisa, a German Digital Health App for multiple sclerosis. ↗DOI: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0001751
Supporting passages (11)
study designThis study aimed to characterize the demographic and clinical profile of Brisa users and longitudinal trends in app engagement, self-reported symptoms and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).
subjectsThis retrospective analysis included Brisa users aged ≥18 years, reported use of category 1 (low), 2 (medium), or 3 (high efficacy) disease-modifying therapy (DMT) according to German DGN guidelines, and had no medication switching.
sample sizeAmong 4,194 users, the majority were female (80.8%), aged 26-35 years (30.5%) and diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (77.4%), with 27.9% newly diagnosed.
sample size basisThis study aimed to characterize the demographic and clinical profile of Brisa users and longitudinal trends in app engagement, self-reported symptoms and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).
randomizedThis retrospective analysis included Brisa users aged ≥18 years, reported use of category 1 (low), 2 (medium), or 3 (high efficacy) disease-modifying therapy (DMT) according to German DGN guidelines, and had no medication switching.
research categoriesThese findings highlight the potential of digital health tools for tracking treatment patterns, patient engagement and self-reported symptom changes in MS.
relevant ms typesAmong 4,194 users, the majority were female (80.8%), aged 26-35 years (30.5%) and diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (77.4%), with 27.9% newly diagnosed.
publication datePublication date: 2026-10-13
follow upLongitudinally, among users with ≥1 year of tracking, symptom and PRO scores remained largely stable.
findingsLongitudinally, among users with ≥1 year of tracking, symptom and PRO scores remained largely stable.
limitationsTitle: A longitudinal analysis of real world symptom tracking and patient-reported outcomes in Brisa, a German Digital Health App for multiple sclerosis.
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