Overviewing Cutting-Edge Research at 2024 ACTRIMS Forum: Daniel Ontaneda, MD, PhD
The associate professor of neurology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine discussed several notable presentations and topics from the 2024 ACTRIMS Forum, highlighting advances in MS care. [WATCH TIME: 9 minutes]
WATCH TIME: 9 minutes
"We talked about barriers in relation to clinical trial development. What are the things we’re missing? We’re currently not great at treating progressive MS. What are the things that are not permitting us to do that? And finally, we also talked about barriers and their relation to providing better mechanisms of repair."
Each year, the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum serves as a prominent platform for clinicians and researchers specializing in multiple sclerosis (MS) to exchange knowledge and insights. Attendees may gain insight on ways to optimize MS management, get career advice from established investigators, and delve into emerging topics and new scientific discoveries. This year’s meeting, held February 29 to March 2, in West Palm Beach, Florida, continued to showcase the field’s recent advances.
This year’s theme was "Breaking Barriers in MS," which included notable discussions on healthcare disparities and access to care, central nervous system borders and associated cells, impediments to neural repair, rehabilitation roadblocks, and clinical trial design considerations. The CE-accredited meeting showcased over 400 poster presentations, while maintaining its traditional 1-track course. Anne Cross, MD, gave the welcome introduction and the Kenneth P. Johnson Memorial Lecture, featuring a presentation on pioneering B-cell therapies.
Following the meeting, NeurologyLive® sat down with Daniel Ontaneda, MD, program committee vice-chair of ACTRIMS, to discuss some of the most exciting presentations given at the meeting and how they speak toward the progress of MS. He talked about how the theme of the meeting captures the state of where research is in the field, and some of the interesting discussions that were had. Furthermore, he spoke on topics like the theory of MS coming from cerebrospinal fluid, the ways to increase underrepresented patients in clinical trials, and the need to continue to revolutionize trials in creative ways. Ontaneda also touched upon some of the emerging therapeutic agents in the pipeline, the importance of demonstrating clinical efficacy, and the next generation of medications clinicians should be aware of.
