These days, there are many effective MS treatments to choose from, so it’s important that you understand when they are used and how they can help you.
There are 3 main types of MS treatment, categorized by how they help you manage your MS:
Keep reading to learn more about these 3 types of MS treatment, and speak to your healthcare team to find out which can help you.
These MS treatments help provide relief during a relapse, which is when symptoms suddenly appear, or get worse, and last for 24 hours or more. Some relapses get better on their own, whereas others get better with treatment.
Corticosteroids
These are hormones that act on your immune system to reduce inflammation.
There are many ways to help manage your symptoms, and the approach needed will be unique to you and the symptoms you are experiencing
Approaches to symptom management can include specific exercises to target different symptoms, and diet and lifestyle changes, to maintain your overall health and well-being.
Your neurologist may refer you to receive additional help with a specific issue. This could include:
Occupational therapy
An occupational therapist can give you tips to manage your day-to-day activities. They can help you plan how to deal with specific symptoms (e.g. fatigue, tremors, and unsteadiness) to reduce their impact on your work, social life, and daily life.
Physiotherapy
If you have experienced a relapse or have long-lasting symptoms, physiotherapy can help because it focuses on physical movement and exercises to help target and manage specific symptoms, such as mobility and muscle spasms, as well as help you to maintain your overall fitness.
Speech and language therapy
If you are having problems with speech or swallowing, speech and language therapists may be able to help with these symptoms. They will work with you to identify the causes of these symptoms and develop strategies to help alleviate them. For example, they might provide exercises that focus on breathing during speech or that directly train the muscles involved in producing sounds.
Psychological therapy
Psychological therapies help with the management of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. ‘Talking’ therapies can help train your brain to react positively to certain situations and help you find constructive ways of thinking about your MS, improve your mental well-being, and help you deal with how MS is affecting your lifestyle.
Read more about psychological therapies on our mental health page.
These therapies target the immune system. Although disease-modifying therapies can’t reverse the nerve damage already caused by MS, they can reduce how often relapses happen in certain forms of MS.
There are now many disease-modifying therapies available that vary in terms of the effect they have on your MS, their side effects, how they are administered, how frequently they are taken, and what follow-up tests are needed to monitor their impact.
When starting a disease modifying therapy, shared decision making is important, and I also need to know what’s important to my patients. When discussing the different options, I need to understand their perspectives and preferences regarding the risks and benefits associated with the different treatment options. That way, I can educate them on what’s concerning them and tell them what to expect after starting a new treatment.
It’s important to discuss with your neurologist which kind of administration suits you and your lifestyle, as well as considering the side effect profile of each drug. For further information, talk to your healthcare team and refer to the patient information leaflets provided for each of the drugs.
The table below includes an overview of some of the different disease-modifying therapies available, including how they are taken, how often, and what follow-up assessments are needed to assess their impact – think about what might fit best with your daily life.
Disease-Modifying Therapy (DMT)†
Drugs included below are grouped by how they are administered and listed in alphabetical order.
Taken as a tablet or capsule (also known as oral administration)
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis to reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations and delay the progression of disability.
Frequency of maintenance dose: A two-year treatment, followed by another two years of observation. In the first year, the treatment course includes two treatment weeks, which consist of one or two tablets per day during 4–5 days at the beginning of the first month and 4–5 days at the beginning of the second month of the same year.
The same treatment course is repeated in second year.
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis to reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations and to delay the progression of disability.
Frequency of maintenance dose: Twice a day as a capsule
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Indication: In adults - Indicated for the treatment of patients with the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis to reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations and to delay the progression of physical disability.
In children - Indicated for the treatment of pediatric patients of 10 years to below 18 years of age with relapsing multiple sclerosis to reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations.
Frequency of maintenance dose: Once a day as a capsule
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, specifically SPMS with active disease (patients with relapses or scans with signs of inflammation), to delay the progression of physical disability.
Frequency of maintenance dose: Once a day as a tablet
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, specifically SPMS with active disease (patients with relapses or scans with signs of inflammation), to delay the progression of physical disability.
Frequency of maintenance dose: Once a day as a tablet
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Taken as an injection (which can be done yourself at home)
Glatiramer acetate (3 times per week)
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of ambulatory patients§ with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, to decrease the frequency of clinical exacerbations and to reduce the number and volume of active brain lesions identified on MRI scans
Frequency of maintenance dose: Injection under the skin daily or 3 times per week (at least 48 hours apart)
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of ambulatory patients§ with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis:
Frequency of maintenance dose: Injection under the skin daily
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Interferon beta-1a (once per week)
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of :
Frequency of maintenance dose: Injection into the muscles once a week
Possible and serious side effects:‡
Interferon beta-1a (3 times per week)
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of:
Frequency of maintenance dose: Injection under the skin 3 times per week
Possible and serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for:
Frequency of maintenance dose: An injection under the skin every other day
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for:
Frequency of maintenance dose: An injection under the skin every other day
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis for adult patients to reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations and to slow the progression of disability
Frequency of maintenance dose: An injection under the skin once every 2 weeks
Possible and serious side effects:‡
Taken as an infusion, which is when the treatment is given via a needle directly into your bloodstream (this is performed in a clinic)
Indication: Indicated for the management of adult patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis
Frequency of maintenance dose: As an infusion in 2 treatment courses, 12 months apart, for 5 consecutive days for the initial treatment and 3 consecutive days for the second treatment course
Possible side effects:‡
Serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for the treatment of relapsing remitting for of multiple sclerosis to reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations, to decrease the number and volume of active brain lesions identified on MRI scans and to delay progression of physical disability.
Frequency of maintenance dose: As an infusion every 4 weeks
Possible and serious side effects:‡
Indication: Indicated for adult patients with:
Frequency of maintenance dose: The initial dose is given as 2 separate infusions 2 weeks apart. After this initial dose, it is given as an infusion every 6 months
Possible and serious side effects:‡
* Dr. Sarah Morrow is a practicing neurologist at an MS Clinic in Canada
† Treatment must be started and supervised by a doctor experienced in treating multiple sclerosis
‡ These side effects are not a comprehensive list of all possible side effects for the individual treatments. Please refer to their individual product monographs for a full list.
§ Including patients who have experienced one episode of nervous system symptoms and who have abnormalities on their brain scan that may be the first signs of multiple sclerosis.
Now you know how to manage your MS, we have lots of tools and tips to help you to carry on living with it.
Find information to help you make more informed decisions about your disease management.