Research has provided new levels of insight into the nature of MS. There is a strong research group at Mount Sinai, and they are investigating areas that hold promise for providing new treatments for MS (cell development, neurodegeneration, glial biology, transplantation, stems cells, etc.). One of the most important areas of research in MS is the field of neuroimmunology. In fact, there is much clinical and laboratory evidence to suggest that MS is a neuroimmunologic disorder. As a result, current therapies are based on immune modification strategies.

Researchers have made considerable progress in understanding the nature of MS, and their insights have led to the development of five new drug therapies for the disorder in the past decade. While these treatments represent major therapeutic advances, they provide only partial benefit to MS patients, are complicated to administer, and are extremely expensive. Still, there is reason for optimism. Scientific advances have provided a rationale for the development of additional therapeutic agents that are now entering clinical trials. Their successes have attracted the interest of biotech and pharmaceutical companies that are now actively performing and sponsoring research aimed at finding new and more effective therapies.

With this in mind, the MS Center has established a leading-edge clinical trials program with a planned state-of-the-art database management system. The clinical trials unit has the capacity to design and implement tests of experimental agents and allow patients access to groundbreaking therapies that are not yet widely available. For example, the Center has coordinated a national, multi-center combination therapy trial in MS, which uses MRI scans on a monthly basis to see if a promising new drug combination is indeed safe and effective.