Tackling Neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis: Emily Harrington, MD, PhD

WATCH TIME: 3 minutes

"On the clinical side, we need more sensitive markers to determine repair. Following someone’s type of walk or their [Expanded Disability Status Scale] score is probably not a great measure for more repairing, remyelinating strategies."

World MS Day, coordinated by the MS International Federation and its members, takes place each year on May 30 to raise awareness for everyone affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). The theme for World MS Day from 2020-2023 is connections, specifically building community connection, self-connection, and connections to quality care. MS, an inflammatory demyelinating condition, impacts 2.8 million individuals worldwide, most of which are diagnosed between the ages of 20 to 40 years.

The explosion of disease-modifying therapies, mainly for relapsing forms of the disease, has taken the standard of care for these patients to new heights. Despite the advances in therapeutics, understanding neurodegeneration in MS remains a prominent issue and is partially to blame for the lack of therapies in progressive MS. Emily Harrington, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, has been passionate about research focused on myelin repair, as well as finding strategies to prevent neurodegeneration, and how aging influences MS.

Ahead of World MS Day, NeurologyLive® sat down with Harrington to get their take on how the community is tackling neurodegeneration and whether there has been a consensus approach amongst their colleagues. They also discussed the need for improved preclinical models and the top priorities commonly discussed within the field.