Emerging Concepts in Multiple Sclerosis and Reversing Neurodegeneration: Daniel Ontaneda, MD

WATCH TIME: 3 minutes

"I’m not a basic scientist, but to me, it’s always exciting to see the very promising early investigations into MS. What’s beautiful about ACTRIMS is that it’s a single track, and the sessions are mixed between clinical and basic stuff. Many times you hear about scientists who are doing basic research, looking for new therapies, new pathways, that can target not only prevention of inflammation, but reversing injury that’s occurred."

There have been several significant strides made in the treatment and management of multiple sclerosis (MS) in recent years, fueled by the improvements to the efficacy and safety of disease-modifying therapies. Additionally, MS is more quickly diagnosed, enabling early and sustained therapy to slow disease activity, and there is a greater awareness of the numerous symptoms patients face, which allows for greater opportunity to address them. Above all, there has been a greater understanding of the origins of the disease, and the viral implications of Epstein-Barr virus.

At the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, held February 23-25, in San Diego, California, a session titled “Emerging Concepts in MS” highlighted studies that inform the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms in MS. Presented by young investigators, the topics ranged widely, from multi modular approaches to characterize MS brain pathology to identifying pathogenic gut bacteria underlying MS progression.

Prior to the meeting, NeurologyLive^® sat down with Daniel Ontaneda, MD, program committee vice-chair of ACTRIMS, to discuss some of the notable areas of MS research gaining momentum in the field. He spoke about the advances in understanding how to treat inflammation, including focal lesions and white matter, compared with the current limitations to treat and understand the neurodegenerative process of the disease. 

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