Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Towards treating progressive multiple sclerosis

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 16, pages 589–590 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Following extensive progress in the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis, the major challenge in the field is now to develop effective therapies for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. As the first signs of success emerge, now is the time to consider the research needed to move the field forward.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Agents that are currently being studied for treatment of progressive MS.

References

  1. Lublin, F. D. et al. The 2013 clinical course descriptors for multiple sclerosis: a clarification. Neurology 94, 1088–1092 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Brownlee, W. J. et al. Early imaging predictors of long-term outcomes in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis. Brain 142, 2276–2287 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Eshaghi, A. et al. Progression of regional grey matter atrophy in multiple sclerosis. Brain 141, 1665–1677 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Martinez-Lapiscina, E. H. et al. Retinal thickness measured with optical coherence tomography and risk of disability worsening in multiple sclerosis: a cohort study. Lancet Neurol. 15, 574–584 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Kapoor, R. et al. Serum neurofilament light as a biomarker in progressive multiple sclerosis. Neurology https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000010346 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Chataway, J. et al. Efficacy of three neuroprotective drugs in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS-SMART): a phase 2b, multiarm, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Neurol. 19, 214–225 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Absinta, M., Lassmann, H. & Trapp, B. D. Mechanisms underlying progression in multiple sclerosis. Curr. Opin. Neurol. 33, 277–285 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Neumann, B. et al. Problems and pitfalls of identifying remyelination in Multiple Sclerosis. Cell Stem Cell 26, 617–619 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Wheeler, M. A. et al. MAFG-driven astrocytes promote CNS inflammation. Nature 578, 593–599 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Feinstein, A. et al. CogEx Research Team. Study protocol: improving cognition in people with progressive multiple sclerosis: a multi-arm, randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trial of cognitive rehabilitation and aerobic exercise (COGEx). BMC Neurol. 20, 204 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queen Square Multiple Sclerosis Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, London, UK

    Alan Thompson & Olga Ciccarelli

Authors
  1. Alan Thompson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Olga Ciccarelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alan Thompson.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

A.J.T. has served on scientific advisory boards and received honoraria from Eisai and Abbvie; has received support for travel from the International Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Alliance as chair of their Scientific Steering Committee, and from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as a member of their Research Programs Advisory Committee; receives an honorarium from SAGE Publishers as Editor-in-Chief of Multiple Sclerosis Journal; is an editorial board member for Lancet Neurology; and receives research support from NIHR and the NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre. O.C. has served on scientific advisory boards and has received honoraria and support for travel from Merck, Novartis and Roche; is Deputy Editor for Neurology; serves on the editorial board for Multiple Sclerosis Journal; receives research support from EPSRC, MS Society of GB and NI, National MS Society, NIHR, the NIHR UCLH/UCL Biomedical Research Centre and the Rosetrees Trust.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Thompson, A., Ciccarelli, O. Towards treating progressive multiple sclerosis. Nat Rev Neurol 16, 589–590 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-020-00421-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-020-00421-4

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing