Multiple sclerosis: 2026 update

Area of Science:

• Neuroimmunology
• Central Nervous System (CNS) Disorders

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a prevalent inflammatory-demyelinating CNS disease.
• Current treatments manage relapse activity but challenges remain in understanding initiation, progression, and predicting disease evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize key research findings in MS from the last 18 months.
• To cover advances in pathophysiology, imaging, biomarkers, AI, and clinical trials.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent research (last 18 months).
• Focus on pathophysiology, aging effects on glial and immune cells, tissue-resident memory cells.
• Inclusion of advances in imaging technologies, biomarkers, and artificial intelligence (AI).
• Reporting of recent clinical trial findings targeting CNS immune cells.

Main Results:

• Recent research provides new insights into MS pathophysiology, including the impact of aging on immune and glial cells.
• Advances in imaging and biomarkers offer improved methods for monitoring and potentially predicting MS.
• AI applications show promise for predicting disease evolution in MS patients.
• Clinical trials are exploring novel strategies targeting immune cells within the CNS.

Conclusions:

• Understanding MS pathophysiology, particularly the role of aging and specific immune cells, is advancing.
• New technologies and AI are enhancing the prediction and management of MS.
• Ongoing clinical trials offer hope for more effective treatments targeting the CNS immune environment.