By ParadigMS Foundation
On Saturday, 7th September, ParadigMS convened an Expert Meeting in Budapest, assembling top specialists in multiple sclerosis to review and discuss educational materials on MS treatment and care. The agenda included new topics like consensus quality indicators for monitoring MS and the diagnosis and treatment of NMO/MOGAD, alongside final presentations on monitoring disease progression beyond EDSS. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss significant developments within multiple sclerosis (MS) care, look ahead to future research projects, and plan actions for the coming year.
The day began with a brief introduction by Celia Oreja-Guevara, who welcomed the participants and provided an overview of the program. The first lecture was delivered by Tjalf Ziemssen, who introduced a new topic: Consensus quality indicators for the monitoring of multiple sclerosis. This led to a dynamic discussion in which the experts shared their views on defining quality indicators for MS monitoring.
Bart Van Wijmeersch then took the floor to speak on the topic Beyond EDSS: How to monitor disease progression in multiple sclerosis. His presentation offered fresh insights into the limitations of traditional monitoring tools and proposed new methods to better track the progression of the disease.
Florian Deisenhammer and Andrew Chan spoke about Biomarkers. The two experts discussed the immense potential of biomarkers in diagnosing and treating MS, presenting both the current state of research and future perspectives. This talk sparked a lively exchange of ideas on how biomarkers can be used for more personalized and effective treatments.
The next session, led by Celia Oreja-Guevara and Melinda Magyari, focused on the Diagnosis and treatment of NMO/MOGAD. The experts delved deeper into the challenges of these rarer conditions and discussed new treatment methods.
Another important topic discussed was the role of Generics, Biosimilars, and NBCDs in the treatment of MS by Celia Oreja-Guevara. The discussion revolved around how generic medicines and biosimilars are playing an increasingly significant role in MS care, along with the challenges and opportunities that come with them.
Sofie Aerts, a PhD researcher, concluded the presentations with an update on her project regarding Prognosis Factors in MS. This remote presentation provided the attendees with new insights into the factors influencing the prognosis of MS patients and led to a brief yet interesting conversation about the applicability of these insights in practice.
The last part of the morning was dedicated to a discussion during which future topics and the status of ongoing articles were reviewed. This was a productive session, during which concrete steps were taken to plan new research and publications for the upcoming year.
It was a highly successful day, filled with valuable discussions and tangible prospects for further collaboration and innovation within MS care. The attending experts left inspired and with new ideas, ready to further develop the plans for the nearest future!
The final presentations will be shared on our platform shortly – stay tuned!
