Treatment of multiple sclerosis

1. Big picture

Treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) has four goals:

1. Treat acute relapse
2. Modify the disease course
3. Treat chronic symptoms
4. Preserve quality of life, function, mobility, work capacity and mental health

The key exam sentence:

MS has no definitive cure, but acute relapses can be shortened with high-dose corticosteroids, and disease-modifying treatment can reduce relapse frequency and delay disability, especially in active relapsing-remitting MS.

The treatment must always be individualized because MS can be mild, highly active, relapsing, progressive, pregnancy-related, or complicated by infection, depression, bladder symptoms, spasticity,