Notable Sessions to Eye Amid the 2025 ACTRIMS Forum: Véronique Miron, PhD

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"With the revised criteria, we can now broaden diagnosis using tools like MRI imaging, offering broader treatment options for individuals previously excluded."

At the 2024 European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) Congress, a committee made up of 55 international experts from 16 countries presented a new update to the 2017 McDonald Diagnostic Criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS). These new changes, expected to be published in the coming months, provide a more comprehensive and flexible framework for diagnosing MS, especially for patients who don’t fit traditional clinical patterns, ultimately allowing for more personalized and timely treatment.

The newly announced criteria place greater emphasis on MRI findings, recognizing that MS can be detected through imaging before clinical symptoms fully develop. Additionally, the revised criteria incorporate additional tools like MRI imaging and testing of immunoglobulin in cerebrospinal fluid, as well as new biomarkers such as the central vein sign, paramagnetic rim lesions, and kappa free light chains. While these additions to the criteria may ultimately change MS diagnosis for the better, understanding how to apply the new revisions into clinical settings is something clinicians will take time getting used to.

At the 2025 Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, held February 27 to March 1, in San Diego, California, several of the session curriculum are expected to align with the recently updated diagnostic criteria. More specifically, a presentation will focus on the real-world application of these updated guidelines to broaden treatment options for patients previously excluded from diagnosis.

Véronique Miron, PhD, a chair of the meeting, recently sat down with NeurologyLive^® to discuss some of the notable sessions expected at the upcoming meeting. Miron, the John David Eaton Chair in Multiple Sclerosis at the Barlow MS Center, University of Toronto, called out 2 key presentations, one of which will focus on the use of machine learning to predict MS disease progression, analyze immune cell profiles, and improve imaging techniques. Additionally, she talked about the latest in research and clinical trial data, including the use of biomarkers and ketogenic diets in MS treatment, as well as where the clinical community stands on Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors.

Click here for coverage of 2025 ACTRIMS Forum.