Long-Term Changes, Strides Made in MS Care: Barry Hendin, MD

"In regard to progress, we think we’re best at treating the inflammatory part of MS. We haven’t been as successful in treating progression of MS, but that’s one of the reasons that a lot of attention has been placed on active, progressive MS.”

The first disease-modifying therapy for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) was approved by the FDA in 1993, marking a monumental change for the direction of the treatment of the disease. Since then, there have been an influx of approved treatment options to cover a wide range of approaches to different types of MS.

While there is no way to predict with any certainty how an individual’s disease will progress, 4 basic MS disease courses, including clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS, and primary progressive MS, have been identified. For Barry Hendin, MD, the explosion of knowledge and the ability to change the trajectory of life for patients with MS is the most interesting aspect about caring for those with the disease.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, Hendin, neurologist from Banner Health and chief medical officer of the MS Association of America, discussed the advancements MS clinical care has made in recent decades. He stressed the importance of siponimod (Mayzent; Novartis), which has been approved to treat relapsing forms of MS, which include CIS, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease.