Emerging Strategies for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
Emerging Strategies for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
The agents described in this review represent some of the most promising therapeutics in both late- and early-stage testing for the treatment of MS. They are examples of the myriad new molecules and MS therapeutic techniques currently under investigation. The pipeline includes dozens of other agents in preclinical and early-phase clinical studies, with varied mechanisms of action and target pathways. Potential biomarkers of mechanism of action-specific therapeutic response, such as levels of CD56 NK cells with DAC, or adverse event risk profiling, such as IL-21 levels with alemtuzumab, may allow for more rational selection of therapy and maximized benefit/risk ratios.
Although some of the strategies geared towards remyelination and repair may be several years away from clinical application, it is clear that we are already at the brink of a vastly more complex, efficacious and personalized treatment era for MS. In the near term, as increasing numbers of therapies succeed in clinical trials and obtain approval, the therapeutic challenge will become one of optimizing treatment regimens to suit patients' individual disease characteristics – taking into account both biological and clinical heterogeneity – to an extent not previously possible.
Future Perspective
The agents described in this review represent some of the most promising therapeutics in both late- and early-stage testing for the treatment of MS. They are examples of the myriad new molecules and MS therapeutic techniques currently under investigation. The pipeline includes dozens of other agents in preclinical and early-phase clinical studies, with varied mechanisms of action and target pathways. Potential biomarkers of mechanism of action-specific therapeutic response, such as levels of CD56 NK cells with DAC, or adverse event risk profiling, such as IL-21 levels with alemtuzumab, may allow for more rational selection of therapy and maximized benefit/risk ratios.
Although some of the strategies geared towards remyelination and repair may be several years away from clinical application, it is clear that we are already at the brink of a vastly more complex, efficacious and personalized treatment era for MS. In the near term, as increasing numbers of therapies succeed in clinical trials and obtain approval, the therapeutic challenge will become one of optimizing treatment regimens to suit patients' individual disease characteristics – taking into account both biological and clinical heterogeneity – to an extent not previously possible.
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