Modern multiple sclerosis treatment - what is approved, what is on the horizon

Drug Discov Today. 2008 Dec;13(23-24):1013-25. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2008.08.003. Epub 2008 Sep 25.

Abstract

In the mid-1990s, the implementation of the immunomodulatory drugs interferon-beta and glatiramer acetate offered the first evidence-based treatment option for multiple sclerosis (MS). These new drugs were beneficial in a huge number of MS patients worldwide, leading to a delay in disease-related disability. Moreover, MS was suddenly the focus not only of patients and their physicians but also of pharmaceutical companies, with a tremendous increase in interest by scientists. As a result of these efforts the first monoclonal antibody treatment has recently been implemented in MS. It will presumably be followed by several other more specific, more effective and more comfortable therapies within the next few years. Here, we will show the current MS treatment options as well as recent progress in the field, and we will introduce the potential new treatment options for future MS therapy.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / pharmacology
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / therapeutic use
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Disabled Persons
  • Disease Progression
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Factors / pharmacology
  • Immunologic Factors / therapeutic use*
  • Multiple Sclerosis / drug therapy*
  • Multiple Sclerosis / physiopathology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Immunologic Factors