It is my pleasure to present proceedings of the first multiple sclerosis (MS) Experts’ Summit Continuing Medical Education (CME) course entitled ‘Living with MS: treating the whole patient.’ The materials reflect the scientific contents of a CME ‘classroom’ event held in May 2013 in Barcelona, Spain, where up to 200 European neurologists gathered to participate in main sessions, parallel workshops, clinical case review sessions and other educational activities related to MS and MS spasticity. Over the course of the 2-day program, which I had the honor to chair, an international team of esteemed experts shared their knowledge and experience and guided attendees through many issues and challenges faced by clinicians and patients with MS. Course participants were granted up to 10 CME credits validated by the respected independent organization, European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
The word ‘summit’ immediately brings to mind a ‘wide view’, which is exactly what the symposium delivered. On the one hand, there were views to novel findings about genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the development and progression of MS. On the other hand, there were views to the daily unmet needs of our MS patients. As well as decipher the science, the experts provided useful recommendations for improving MS management that can be readily incorporated into daily practice.
Spasticity is a common symptom of MS and, in its more severe forms, can add considerably to the overall burden of disease. As oral antispasticity medications tend to provide limited benefit at dosages patients can tolerate well, new options for MS spasticity management, such as the recently introduced cannabinoid-based oromucosal spray, are welcomed by clinicians and patients alike. The MS Experts’ Summit featured a number of clinical case study reviews of patients with MS-related spasticity. An exchange of experience between representatives from several European countries provided participants with the opportunity to explore several alternative management approaches for MS spasticity. An important step forward in the management of MS spasticity has been recognition of the need for evidence-based guidelines. Guidelines are now available in Germany and Spain. Planning is underway for next-level guidelines to ensure best practice across Europe in the management of MS spasticity.
Individual interests were catered for in a number of parallel session workshops designed to provide further insight into specific aspects of MS management. Topics included the use of scales to measure symptoms and wellness in MS patients; the use of functional MRI for diagnosing and monitoring the evolution of MS; insight into the development of multidisciplinary networks to optimize MS care; and a valuable lesson in understanding and interpreting health economic evaluations.
Many of us attending the Experts’ Summit treat more than a thousand patients with MS each year. Such broad experience allows us to understand and appreciate our patients’ desire to be proactive against MS. By incorporating the knowledge gained at the MS Experts’ Summit into everyday practice, collectively we have the opportunity to impact positively on the lives of many thousands of individuals with MS and their support networks.
The aim of sharing key learnings from the MS Experts’ Summit through these proceedings is to extend the benefits of the CME event to an even wider audience.
I trust you will enjoy and profit from the symposium.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
R Gold has received honoraria or grant/research support from Biogen Idec, Bayer Schering, TEVA, Merck Serono, Novartis and Sanofi/Genzyme. R Gold received an honorarium from Laboratorios Almirall, S.A. (Barcelona, Spain) for participating in the symposium and producing this supplement article. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
Writing assistance was provided by Content Ed Net with funding from Laboratorios Almirall, S.A.