“We’re in a completely different phase of MS now”

As medical director of Holy Name’s renowned MS Center in New Jersey, Dr Mary Ann Picone is a hugely influential figure in the movement to advance MS treatments. NR Times speaks to her about challenges, opportunities and new developments in the MS field.

Not so long ago, being diagnosed with MS meant an end to life as you knew it.

So bleak was the outlook, recalls Dr Mary Ann Picone, that America’s MS community came up with a phrase soaked in gallows humour – “diagnose and adios”.

Although as recently as the 1980s there were virtually no treatment options for clinicians to turn to, however, there are now numerous; and Dr Picone, who has been on the frontline of MS drug development in the decades since, has played an important role in helping to drive this.

Read on to find out about the emerging therapies that will shape MS treatment in the coming years and Dr Picone's views on the road ahead in MS research.