Media Category: Immunology

This expert panel discussion explores the current challenges in understanding and managing neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Bringing together clinical perspectives, the conversation highlights gaps in pathophysiology, limitations in monitoring tools, and ongoing uncertainties in long-term treatment strategies. Despite advances in biomarkers and therapies, real-world decision-making remains largely driven by clinical experience. Key Insights from the Lecture: Neurofilaments and GFAP are not specific to Multiple Sclerosis and should not replace established...

Anti-CD20 therapies have transformed the treatment landscape of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), offering highly effective disease control through targeted B-cell depletion. As these therapies are increasingly used early in the disease course and maintained over many years, understanding their long-term efficacy, safety, and optimal use has become essential for clinical practice. In this webinar, Celia Oreja-Guevara and Patrick Vermersch review the latest evidence on anti-CD20 therapies, including ocrelizumab, ofatumumab, rituximab, and ublituximab. Drawing from pivotal clinical trials,...

Advances in antibody testing and biomarker-driven diagnostics have reshaped the distinction between Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), and MOG antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). Florian Deisenhammer reviews the historical shift from considering NMO a subtype of MS to recognizing NMOSD as a distinct antibody-mediated condition, and outlines how AQP4-IgG and MOG-IgG testing – together with characteristic MRI and CSF patterns – supports more accurate diagnosis. A central message is that these diseases can overlap clinically, but...

This lecture introduces the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) system as a complex, tightly regulated lipid-signaling pathway with relevance beyond Multiple Sclerosis, extending into vascular biology and other neurological diseases. The speaker explains how S1P is produced and transported, how it acts both intracellularly and via surface receptors, and why its biological effects depend on compartment, binding proteins, and the balance between pro-apoptotic ceramide and pro-survival S1P. The talk also links S1P dysregulation to disease mechanisms and emerging research questions,...

The endocannabinoid system represents a complex and independent neurotransmitter system with a central role in maintaining homeostasis within the nervous and immune systems. In this lecture, Nikolaos Grigoriadis reviewed the biological foundations of the endocannabinoid system, its mechanisms of action in the central nervous system and immune response, and the growing experimental and clinical evidence supporting its neuroprotective and immunomodulatory functions, with particular relevance for Multiple Sclerosis and other neuroinflammatory conditions. Key Insights from the...

In this keynote from Athens presented by Bart Van Wijmeersch, the concept of immune reconstitution therapy (IRT) in multiple sclerosis is examined from a mechanistic and clinical perspective. The presentation focuses on how targeted depletion and controlled repopulation of immune cells may rebalance dysregulated immunity, enhance tolerance, and reshape long-term disease activity. Key Insights from the Lecture: Immune reconstitution as a goal: restoring immune balance and tolerance is presented as a core objective in MS, by resetting dysregulated regulatory and effector cells. The...