Therapeutic Strategies for Multiple Sclerosis: Approved and Investigational Treatments

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune condition of the central nervous system that links its pathogenesis to immunological dysregulation, genetic predispositions, and environmental triggers. With significant immunology and neuroscience progress in recent years, the treatment of MS has shown remarkable advances. This study summarizes currently approved disease modifying therapies (DMTs) along with innovative therapeutic interventions reaching clinical trial testing and further development. Interferon-beta, glatiramer acetate, and dimethyl fumarate are all FDA-approved therapeutic agents; they exert their immune-regulating actions by lowering rates, inflammation, and progression, yet they also have side effects, lack patient adherence, and are ineffective in progressive MS. As the primary focus of research, the Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Inhibitors have also been shown in recent years to have the potential to bridge chronic neuroinflammation through B cells and myeloid immune cells. Moreover, the newly developed agents promoting myelin repair and neuroprotection will open up new therapeutic options for improved neurological impairment. Some innovative therapeutic approaches have yielded positive results; however, their long-term effectiveness and safety must further be confirmed. From a general perspective, MS treatment is gradually drifting from focusing only on immune-mediated inflammation to also include a general therapeutic approach involving neuroprotection and tissue repair, hence offering patients more favorable treatment onset and opportunities.