Presented by
Daniel Reich, MD, PhD
People living with advanced multiple sclerosis (MS) experience increasing disability, complex symptom burden, and heightened risk of fragmentation or disengagement from care at a time when coordinated support is essential. With the field’s emphasis on disease modification and disability prevention, optimal management of people living with significant disability receives disproportionately less attention. As treatment options narrow for these patients, both patients and clinicians may encounter uncertainty and shifts in care goals, underscoring the need for thoughtful, interdisciplinary approaches tailored to this stage of the condition.
This symposium highlights opportunities to strengthen therapeutic relationships and sustain engagement in care as an individual’s condition, needs, and available clinical options evolve. Panelists discuss ways to reframe clinical success beyond disease stabilization, emphasizing autonomy, dignity, and the intentional preservation of joy and meaning despite advanced disease.
An expert panel specializing in advanced MS presents practical, interdisciplinary approaches to complex symptom management, prevention of secondary complications, and preservation of function. Cognitive and psychosocial challenges that contribute to isolation and diminished quality of life, as well as the critical role of caregivers, are also discussed.
Through interdisciplinary, case-based discussion, the session equips clinicians with practical tools to deliver person-centered care that supports both the clinical complexity and lived experience of individuals with advanced MS. This advanced-level session is designed for clinicians seeking to deepen their expertise in delivering person-centered, interdisciplinary care for individuals with advanced MS.