clinical pipeline
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS; brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves). The disease has a prevalence estimated at greater than 400,000 patients in the US and over 2.5 million patients worldwide. MS is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults with young women having the highest risk of developing the disease. Most patients experience the first signs and symptoms of the disease between the ages of 20 and 40 years, however the range of onset spans from 10 to 59 years of age. While the course of illness can differ significantly from patient to patient, four main subtypes have been defined by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. These include relapsing-remitting MS (the most common), primary-progressive MS, secondary-progressive MS, and progressive-relapsing MS.
MS pathology is driven by self-reactive lymphocytes (hence an autoimmune disease) that attack and destroy the myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells, resulting in inflammation, demyelination, nerve and other brain cell loss, and disruption of the blood-brain barrier. This results in patients experiencing visual disturbances, limb weakness, and sensibility deficits such as numbness. Generally, patients experience clearly defined acute exacerbations (relapses) of disease, partial or complete return to baseline function after each attack, and the absence of disease progression between attacks. Recovery becomes less complete following attacks occurring later in the course of the disease, often leading to patients experiencing decreased coordination of limb or eye motion, depression, concentration disturbances and fatigue. The most disabling symptom is loss of gait control caused by motor weakness, often in combination with coordination problems, which leads to wheel chair dependency in about 50% of untreated MS patients 30 years after diagnosis.