Patricia K. Coyle, MD: Disease-Modification in Multiple Sclerosis

“You really want to, probably, emphasize efficacy as a good option.”

The state of care for multiple sclerosis (MS) has never been better, with 15 disease-modifying therapies available as treatment options.

Patricia K. Coyle, MD, the director of the Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Center at Stony Brook Neuroscience Institute sat with NeurologyLive to discuss these options in depth and provide some insight into their differences. She noted that even despite efficacy, safety, and administration differences, the majority of these therapies are useful for patients, with the decision-making process for physicians boiling down to the preference for each specific patient.

While there isn’t one agent Coyle believes is held above the rest, she noted that the oral therapies have become popular, especially among patients due to their ease of administration, and second-generation versions of these therapies are on the way.

She noted as well that with the monoclonal antibodies, the biggest stumbling block is the adverse events associated with their use, although, the newest of the bunch, the anti-CD20 antibody, could potentially overcome this obstacle.