Priprema i podnošenje rada za publikovanje

1. Priprema i podnošenje rada za publikovanje Profesor dr Jelena Drulović

2. Delovi rada • Sažetak-Abstract • Uvod • Materijal i metode Informisani pristanak/Etički komitet • Diskusija • Literatura • Tabele, grafici, slike

3. Declarations of interest • This study was supported by projects of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia (grants no. 175031 and 175087). • There is no conflict of interest and no additional sources of funding.

4. To The Editor, Acta Neurologica Scandinavica Dear Editor, Please find attached our manuscript ”QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS IN SERBIA” by Drulovic J, Pekmezovic T, Matejic B, Mesaros S, Manigoda M, Stojsavljevic N, Kocev N, Gavric-Kezic M, Nikic P, Dragojlovic M, which we submit for publication in Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. The number of authors exceeds the requested number due to the fact that the study was performed by the members of the Belgrade quality of life in MS study group comprising 8 neurologist, one epidemiologist and two statisticians. No paper resembling the enclosed article has been or will be published except in your Journal. The authors do not have any conflict of interest. The manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors.

5. Jelena Drulovic, MD,PhD. Clinic of Neurology Clinical Center of Serbia Dr Subotica 6, PP 12, 11129 Belgrade 102, Serbia Tel/Fax. +381 11 2685662 E-mail: jelena60@eunet.rs

6. Jelena Drulovic, MD, PhD. Institute of Neurology Clinical Center of Serbia Dr Subotica 6 Belgrade 11000 Serbia Tel/Fax: +381 11 2685 662 E-mail: jelena60@eunet.yu Belgrade, October 31, 2007 Multiple Sclerosis Editor-in-Chief Prof. Alan J. Thompson Dear Professor Thompson, Please find a revised version of our manuscript ”Self-rated physical health predicts CHANGE IN DISABILITY IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS” (ID MSJ-07-0155) by Drulovic J. et al. We have adapted the manuscript according to the reviewers' comments and explained point by point how we handled the issues raised by reviewers. According to the very useful suggestions made by reviewers, we have performed significant revisions in the manuscript. All changes in the revised version have been highlighted by using colored (red) text. Thank you for considering our manuscript for publishing in the Multiple Sclerosis. With kind regards, Dr Jelena Drulovic

7. To The Editor, Disability and Rehabilitation Dear Editor, Please find a revised version of the manuscript entitled ”MSQoL-54 PREDICTS CHANGE IN FATIGUE AFTER REHABILITATION IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS” by Drulovic J, Obradovic Bursac L, Milojkovic D, Kisic Tepavcevic D, Gazibara T, and Pekmezovic T. We are very grateful for the reports of your reviewers. We have adapted the manuscript according to the reviewers' comments and explained point by point how we handled the issues raised by referees. According to the very useful suggestions made by reviewers, we have performed significant revisions in the manuscript. The manuscript is reviewed by a native English speaker. All the revisions are underlined in the text. Thank You for considering our manuscript for publication. Sincerely yours, Dr Jelena Drulovic

8. Reviewer: 1 • Comments to the Author • This is an interesting study conducted on a large cohort of MS patients. Generally the paper is well written however the introduction and methods especially would benefit from being reviewed by a native English speaker. The topic of the paper is relatively novel. • My two main concerns on the paper are • 1) the clinical relevance/usefulness of the results. Even if the results of the MSQoL54 could be 100% accurate in predicting change in FSS scores - what clinical use would this have? I think the authors have to make a stronger case for the 'usefulness' of this study from either a clinical or research perspective • ANSW: We added the explanation regarding the clinical relevance of our results (section Discussion, page 11, paragraph 1): • It could be hypothesized that rehabilitation may enhance potential compensatory mechanisms which allows the clinician to reduce fatigue in MS patients. Our rehabilitation program, which included both physiotherapy (physical input) and verbal interactions with patients (non-physical input), improved the FSS score in our MS cohort. Our primary intention was not to examine the causal relationship of the effects of inpatient rehabilitation on fatigue. We have analyzed the predictive value of the patients’ perception of their health (HRQoL) for fatigue changes during rehabilitation treatment, and demonstrated that various domains of the MSQoL-54 at baseline predicted changes in fatigue status. In general, self-rating of the HRQoL integrates not only the objective functional aspects of the disease but also the patient’s perspective on health and well-being, and is now recognized as an essential measure to determine the potential effects of treatment interventions. Our findings reinforce the importance of assessing the baseline quality of life, which may be useful in decision-making before undergoing certain elements of rehabilitation therapy.