Tackling Multiple Sclerosis With Combination Treatment Approaches, Biomarkers: Jeffrey Cohen, MD

WATCH TIME: 3 minutes

"Thirdly, another alternative would be to combine the therapies we already have. We know that they work via different mechanisms, and we may get more bang for our buck by combining them. In particular, an immune-mediated therapy combined with a repair-promoting strategy makes a lot of sense.”

Despite the recent expansion of treatment options for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), there remains a great unmet need to treat progressive forms of the disease. There have been several attempts to tackle progressive MS, including the use of stem cells, development of new mechanistic targets of action such as Bruton tyron kinase (BTK) inhibitors, and the combination approach of using multiple previously approved disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).

Jeffrey Cohen, MD, director, Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research, Cleveland Clinic, has been among the leaders within the research field for several years, and claims that while a combination approach may be useful, the first priority should be to improve drug development. He noted that for a true breakthrough within the progressive MS space, biomarkers, both fluid and imaging, will be needed to carry out preliminary studies.

At the 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), October 13-15, Cohen sat down with NeurologyLive®for a virtual discussion on the different ways to uncover more about progressive MS, as well as an overview of the greatest steps made in the care of MS in the past year.