Evidence Hub

Recent Advances in Interventions Targeting Remyelination and a Systematic Review of Remyelinating Effects of Approved Disease-Modifying Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis

De Keersmaecker AV, van Doninck E, Wens I, El Ouaamari Y, Popescu V, Laureys G, Cambron M, D'Haeseleer M et al.

European journal of neurology, 2025

7 citations

Abstract

Background: Regenerative strategies in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) pose a significant unmet need. Combining immunomodulatory treatment with remyelinating interventions to target the complex underlying pathogenesis appeals as the next frontier in MS therapeutic developments. Therefore, it is important to identify which disease-modifying treatments (DMT) with proremyelinating properties are most promising for future use in combination treatments. This systematic review provides an overview of preclinical and clinical research on remyelination, focusing on the effects of currently available FDA and EMA-approved DMT.

Methods: The search was conducted in accordance with the "Synthesis without meta-analysis" (SWiM) reporting guideline. The protocol was registered at PROSPERO prior to the search.

Results: Fifty-seven articles on preclinical research, three randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 29 non-randomized clinical studies, and eight reviews were included. Preclinical research suggested neuroprotective properties of various DMT. However, convincing evidence of true remyelination, either by influencing oligodendrocyte lineage cells in cell cultures or histological analysis in vivo, could only be found in studies investigating glatiramer acetate, teriflunomide, Fingolimod, Siponimod, Ponesimod, and alemtuzumab. Clinical trials using surrogate markers of myelin repair, such as advanced imaging and electrophysiological techniques, demonstrated promising results with…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free