NEW THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS IN THE TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Disease modifying treatment with interferon (IFN) beta and glatiramer acetate is today standard therapy in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Other agents approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in MS are mitoxantron and natalizuinab. Considering that studies of the natural history of MS show that 50% of all treatment naive MS patients will need walking assistance in 15 years from the disease onset and that current immunomodulatory treatment can, only partially reduce the severity and number of relapses as well as disease progression, the need of new therapeutic options seems more than reasonable. These options include monoclonal antibodies and other medications, mainly for oral administration. This article provides a review of most of these agents currently tested in MS.