New disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis can help slow down disease progression. Some experimental therapies also show promise in treating the disease.

There’s currently no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), but there are several treatment options that can help manage it. In recent years, new medications have become available to help slow the progression of the disease and relieve symptoms.

Researchers are continuing to develop new treatments and learn more about the causes and risk factors of this disease.

Read on to learn about some of the latest treatment breakthroughs and promising avenues of research.

Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are the main group of medications used to treat MS. To date, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved more than a dozen DMTs for different types of MS.

Most recently, the FDA has approved:

  • Ocrelizumab (Ocrevus): This drug treats relapsing forms of MS and primary progressive MS (PPMS). It’s the first DMT to be approved to treat PPMS and the only one approved for all four types of MS.
  • Fingolimod (Gilenya): This drug treats pediatric MS. It was already approved for adults and, in 2018, became the first DMT to be approved for children.
  • Cladribine (Mavenclad): This drug is approved to treat relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and active secondary progressive MS (SPMS).
  • Siponimod (Mayzent): This drug is approved to treat RRMS, active SPMS, and clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). In a phase 3 clinical trial, siponimod effectively reduced the rate of relapse in people with active SPMS. Compared with a placebo, it cut the relapse rate in half.
  • Ponesimod (Ponvory): This FDA-approved drug has been shown to reduce annual relapses for relapsing types of MS by 30.5% when compared with teriflunomide (Aubagio).
  • Ublituximab (Briumvi): This drug was approved by the FDA to treat RRMS, SPMS, and CIS. It is a monoclonal antibody given as an infusion.

While new treatments are continually being approved, some medications are being removed from pharmacy shelves. In March 2018, daclizumab (Zinbryta) was withdrawn from markets around the world due to reports of the drug potentially causing inflammatory brain disorders. This drug is no longer available to treat MS.

Several other medications are moving through the research pipeline. In recent studies, some of these medications have shown promise for treating MS.

  • The results of a phase 2 clinical trial suggest that the drug ibudilast might help reduce the progression of MS. To learn more about this medication, the manufacturer plans to conduct a phase 3 clinical trial.
  • The findings of a small 2017 study suggest that clemastine fumarate might help restore the protective coating around nerves in people with relapsing forms of MS. This oral antihistamine is currently available over the counter but not in the dose used in the clinical trial. More research is needed to study its potential benefits and risks for treating MS.
  • Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation therapy is a promising new treatment for MS that’s currently being studied. It’s not currently approved in the United States, but interest is growing in the field, and it’s being evaluated in clinical trials.

Thanks to the development of new medications for MS, people have a growing number of treatment options to choose from.

To help guide their decisions, scientists are using large databases and statistical analyses to try to pinpoint the best treatment options for different people.

Eventually, this research might help those with MS learn which treatments are most likely to work.

To understand the causes and risk factors for MS, geneticists and other scientists are combing the human genome for clues.

Researchers have identified more than 200 genetic variants associated with MS. For example, a 2018 study by the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium identified 4 new genes linked to the disease.

Eventually, findings like these might help scientists develop new strategies and tools to predict, prevent, and treat MS.

Scientists have also studied the role that bacteria and other microbes in our gut might play in the development and progression of MS. This community of bacteria is known as our gut microbiome.

Not all bacteria are harmful. In fact, many “friendly” bacteria live in our bodies and help regulate our immune system.

When the balance of bacteria in our bodies is off, it can lead to inflammation. This might contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases, including MS.

Research into the gut microbiome might help scientists understand why and how people develop MS. It could also pave the way for new treatment approaches, including dietary interventions and other therapies.

Scientists are continuously seeking new insight into the risk factors and causes of MS and potential treatment strategies.

Several new medications have been approved in recent years, and some have shown promise in clinical trials.

These advancements are helping to improve the health and well-being of the many people who live with this condition while bolstering hopes for a potential cure.