Great strides made, but research continues on care for MS patients

"MS has gone from an untreatable disease to having ten FDA-approved therapies for relapsing MS, the most common form of the condition," says Arney Rosenblat, a spokesperson for the National MS Society.

"It's a wonderful time to be a neurologist and to have the opportunity to do some great things for people," says Clyde Markowitz, the director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

There remains no cure and little treatment for rarer forms of MS. Relapses can be debilitating. "What we're looking for next," Markowitz says, "are more effective therapies, better-tolerated therapies, and restorative therapies."

A chronic autoimmune disease, MS destroys nerve-insulating material called myelin and damages the underlying nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord, which can lead to weakness in one or more limbs, balance problems, and numbness. MS affects about 400,000 Americans, mostly younger women. Over the past year, the National MS Society has spent nearly $50 million on 380 research projects around the world.

Sometimes called the 'snowflake disease,' MS can vary by individual.

The most common type is relapsing-remitting, which affects about 90 percent of patients. Patients suffer flare-ups in which their symptoms worsen, followed by partial or complete remissions. About ten percent of patients have a progressive form of the disease, in which their MS symptoms worsen without relapses.

The big shift in recent years has been an increase in the number of drugs for the relapse-remitting form of MS that can be taken orally, rather than by injection like the earlier treatments. There are no new drugs for the progressive forms of the disease.

"The main advantage of the newest oral drugs is that they are not injectables," says Thomas Mirsen, a neurologist at Cooper University Hospital. "They are not as groundbreaking as earlier treatments."

Gilenya, which can reduce relapses and delay disability, is now being tested in children and adolescents. It also slows the heart rate, requiring regular heart monitoring, blood work, and a checkup by an eye doctor.

Tecfidera, which helps with relapsing MS, can cause flushing and gastrointestinal problems, though it has gained wide acceptance among doctors and patients.

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Great strides made, but research continues on care for MS patients