Annalisa Morgan, MD, reports on how several important updates were shared regarding use of disease-modifying therapy (DMT) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) at ACTRIMS 2025, particularly focusing on Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors such as tolebrutinib. A new post hoc analysis data demonstrated that tolebrutinib mitigated the risk for disability worsening in patients with higher numbers of paramagnetic rim lesions, which are associated with chronic active lesions and disability accumulation.
Dr Morgan also comments on how research in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis models suggested that BTK inhibitors may help prevent progressive disease phenotypes by reducing cortical demyelination and atrophy. Finally, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, a new DMT under investigation, showed promising preliminary results for B-cell depletion in highly active relapsing-remitting MS, though it carries risks such as cytokine release syndrome and lymphodepletion.
