Get On and Stay On Multiple Sclerosis Treatment

Of course, all of that has changed, and there are a few major intellectual leaps in the area of MS therapeutics that really have occurred, one of which has been the emergence of these drugs and the recognition that they have an impact on the disease course. We know that these drugs are important in terms of influencing the overall course of disability in these patients for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that these drugs affect at least five different domains.

They reduce the risk of disease-related attacks or exacerbations. We know that the drugs have a major impact on reducing the number of new MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) lesions in the brain and spinal cord. Many of these lesions can be associated with clinical disability. The drugs also have a significant impact on staying progression of disability, meaning that patients over the course of the illness can accrue new abnormalities that leave them with some lack of capability in terms of their physical abilities.

In addition, we know that there’s some suggestion that these drugs can reduce the risk of further cognitive decline, changes in intellectual function as well as decreasing the risk of atrophy, shrinkage and tissue loss within the brain and spinal cord. So, the observation that the drugs have multiple domains of potential impact has been a welcome addition to what we’re able to do for patients with multiple sclerosis.

The other intellectual leap has been the observation that the earlier we treat, the more likely that the patients will do better over time. This has been such an intellectual leap that it has partially changed our definition in terms of when we declare the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

There have been two very early treatment trials, using Avonex in North America and Rebif in Europe, which have demonstrated that patients who present to their physicians with their very first symptoms already benefit when they are treated with interferons.