Preventing disability in patients with severe forms of MS

Summary

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a prominent cause of neurological disability. The course of MS is different for each individual, with approximately 6% of patients having an aggressive form of MS and accumulating disability at a faster rate.   

Preventing disability is a primary goal of MS treatment. More than 15 treatments with varying potency and safety have been registered for MS in Australia. Treatment choices should be personalised, and the right treatment should be used for each patient to optimise long-term outcomes. At this time however, the best treatment approach in patients with aggressive MS remains uncertain.  

In this research project, Dr Roos will first confirm the reliability of statistical models that predict an individual’s risk of developing aggressive MS at the earliest stages of MS.   

The team will then establish whether early use of highly potent therapies can prevent aggressive disease in those patients at high risk. This will be analysed in data from two large MS registries.  

Finally, the study team will generalise these findings to the MS population, by testing whether early use of highly potent therapies can prevent disability, using data from two clinical trials and another large clinical study. This will provide conclusive evidence to confirm if early use of high potency therapy can prevent disability in a broader population of people with MS.