Accelerating Scientific Knowledge And Revolutionary Medical Techniques Feed Positive Outlook On The Longer Term

Main Category: Multiple Sclerosis
Article Date: 03 Dec 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) should start at the first onset of the disease. All patients, regardless of the type of MS, should receive adequate drug treatment after a first attack. This was one of today's main conclusion at the international medical scientific conference on New Targets of Treatment in Multiple Sclerosis, organized by the independent European Charcot Foundation, November 29 - December 1, 2007, Italy. More than 320 scientists and clinicians in the field of MS from across Europe and abroad discussed the newest developments in treatment strategies.

Most current drug treatments are aimed at the suppression of relapses of Multiple Sclerosis. "In applying the available treatments, the neurologist has to know on which part of the immune system the therapy is aimed: the peripheral part of the immune system, the blood-brain barrier and/or the brain itself", professor O.R. Hommes, chairman of the European Charcot Foundation stated.

Unfortunately, there is no treatment to stop the progression of the disease yet. During the congress, top level scientists in the field of MS thoroughly discussed a number of targets for new MS treatments and reliable measurement of clinically relevant effects. Today, medical science is increasingly supported by accelerating technical possibilities to analyze vast amounts of immunological samples in short time against low costs. The growing knowledge about a set of new biomarkers and the rapidly improving MRI imaging techniques were also mentioned as important developments to boost the search for accurate treatment.

It is apparent that a promising line of new oral treatments is currently being developed, some of which are already being examined in phase III clinical trials. "These drugs are all potentially 1st line treatments for MS and favor a high degree of tolerability for MS patients", as was stated by Prof. G. Comi (Milan, Italy). Nowadays only injectable therapies are available.

The enormous scientific efforts that are being undertaken throughout the world and the tremendous build-up of knowledge about the disease in recent years, give rise to an optimistic outlook at finding several curative treatments of MS in the next decade. "Precise, predictive and personalized MS drugs against acceptable cost can be anticipated by 2020", according to Prof. L. Steinman (Stanford University, USA) in his key note lecture.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory and degenerative disease of the central nervous system leading in time to severe disability. This chronic disease is affecting 70 to 200 per 100.000 persons in Europe.

http://www.charcot-ms.eu