Addressing Unmet Medical Needs in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

More than two decades since the first disease-modifying therapies became available to treat MS, the field of MS therapeutics is evolving faster than ever. The first injectable disease-modifying therapies brought hope and help to those fighting a previously untreatable disease. One chapter of the book is devoted to emerging oral therapies as a therapeutic modality - an approach that is more accessible and can improve compliance relative to the injectable approaches that are still used worldwide as first-line treatment. As more treatments for RRMS emerge, there will be a greater need to base treatment decisions on disease or biological characteristics in individual patients. Monoclonal antibodies and antigen-receptor therapies are examples of how the potential exists to suppress MS disease activity through a variety of different mechanisms of action. In addition, one of the most important new frontiers is development of strategies for neuroprotection and neurorepair. Novel biological pathways and therapeutics are also being explored for their ability to enhance innate repair mechanisms and remyelination. This book provides an overview of these current and emerging approaches and highlights those areas of current research on novel interventions that hold major promise for the future.