There are basically three categories of medications that are used to treat multiple sclerosis. One group is the disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). The second is the meds we use to reverse flares. The third group is the drugs that treat our day-to-day MS symptoms.
Disease modifying MS therapies
There are more than a dozen DMTs that are approved for use in the U.S. A few others are approved for use in countries outside of America. DMTs have proved capable of stopping MS from progressing. In some cases, notably Ocrevus and Lemtrada, the DMT has reversed the progression…improving a patient’s symptoms.
The oldest medication in the DMT group, Betaseron, was approved in 1993 and two others, Avonex and Copaxone, were okayed a few years later. The most recent DMTs, Lemtrada, Ocrevus and Zeposia, gained approval in the US in 2014, 2017 and 2020.
You can read a comprehensive article about DMTs, published in the Journal of Neurology, here.
You can find a list of all DMTs here.
Medications for MS flares
Steroids are used to reverse a serious flare, also called an exacerbation, a relapse or an attack. A serious flare generally impacts mobility and the steroids are administered by an infusion into a vein. The treatment runs three to five days and is designed to end the relapse by quickly reducing inflammation. Some physicians follow the infusions by tapering the dose, over about a week, using oral steroids.
Steroids aren’t believed to have any effect on the long-term course of MS. They can cause your bones to become brittle if they’re used over many years.
There are three steroid medications used to treat MS. (The links below lead to information on the National MS Society website):
- Solu-Medrol (methylprednisolone) – intravenous
- Deltasone (prednisone) – oral
- H.P. Acthar Gel (ACTH) – gel
Medications for MS symptoms
Many medications are used to treat the many symptoms that are typical of MS. Some of the most common are Ampyra to improve walking, Lioraesal (baclofen) to ease spaticity, Oxytrol (oxybutynin) for bladder problems and Provigil (modafinil) for fatigue.
See a larger list of symptom medications here.