Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Neurology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2024) | Viewed by 6065
Special Issue Editor
Interests: cognitive; multiple sclerosis
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by the inflammation, demyelination, and degeneration of oligodendrocytes and their axons, which are mediated by the activation of cells of the immune system.
MS is the leading cause of progressive neurological disability and the first cause of neurological symptoms in young adults. Because of the high prevalence of MS in the young population, some emerging disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) aiming to control symptoms have been developed; these new drugs have sophisticated capacities for modulating immune function.
Currently, the primary aim of treatment in MS is to reach “no evident disease activity” (NEDA), which is a composite of three related measures of disease activity: (i) no relapses; (ii) no disability progression; and (iii) no MRI activity (such as new or enlarging T2 lesions or Gd-enhancing lesions) (3,4).
DMTs are chosen by evaluating a few factors:
- The control of neuro-inflammation to prevent the accumulation of disabilities and prolong wellness;
- Avoiding cognitive deterioration, fatigue, and depression, which are caused by MS and at the same time worsen the disease;
- The high heterogeneity of prognosis among patients;
- Treatment adherence, which is strictly related to patients’ wishes and expectations.
Several elements must be considered about the use of DMTs. Some are objectively standardized factors such as clinical and radiological criteria, and potential treatment efficacy, while others are more related to subjective interpretation such as cognition status, tolerability, and/or poor adherence to treatment, comorbidities that may influence medication management and metabolism, and personal factors that hinder the suspension or continuation of therapy, such as pregnancy. By means of the new drugs with different pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles, it is today possible to choose a tailor-made treatment by defining a patient’s precision medicine.
The aim of this Special Issue of JCM entitled "Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis" is to select various author contributions in order to deeply investigate this topic.
Dr. Marta Altieri
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- multiple sclerosis
- autoimmune disease
- disease-modifying therapies (DMTs)
- neuro-inflammation
- cognitive deterioration
- treatment
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