Expert Perspective on Ocrelizumab

With every new drug approval, physicians and researchers learn a little bit more about multiple sclerosis (MS), notes Fred Lublin, MD, Saunders Family Professor of Neurology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in a video interview with Practical Neurology® at the AAN Meeting. “Even though we’d like to think that drug development goes from basic science to animal studies to various phases in humans, very often drugs get approved because they work and then we get a better understanding of how they work,” he said. “With ocrelizumab, 10 years ago no one was talking about targeting B cells as a therapeutic mechanism as a target for multiple sclerosis, and now we know that it’s actually a very important target.” In light of the robust therapeutic pipeline for MS, Dr. Lublin expects this trend to continue. “We have a pipeline of newer agents for both relapsing and progressive forms of MS, and they, too, will hopefully be successful and get approved and teach us about the underlying mechanisms of the disease process.”

JUNE COVER FOCUS: The Future of Alzheimer’s Treatment

Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD explores the potential for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, while Jeffrey Cummings, MD reflects on new therapeutic developments and efforts toward prevention. Watch out for these stories and more in the next edition of Practical Neurology®.

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VITAMIN D: CONSIDERATIONS FOR TREATMENT, PREVENTION, AND RISK IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CARE

By Ellen Mowry, MD