Course opens: June 30, 2024
Course expires: June 30, 2025
Overview
The understanding of MS pathophysiology has rapidly advanced in recent years, prompting reevaluation of concepts that were once considered understood. It is now recognized that the hallmark insidious worsening of progressive disease and related pathologies are not limited to classically progressive phenotypes and in fact often begin early in relapsing disease. This program dives into the questions of what really is the pathophysiological process of MS progression, how clinicians can better capture resulting subclinical disease changes, and what current therapeutic strategies, if any, can be employed today to address this challenging phenomenon. It also explores the latest evidence with Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKis),the insight it provides into this class, and its implications for the trajectory of MS management.
Target Audience
The target audience for this CME initiative includes neurodegenerative disease specialists, general neurologists, advanced practice neurology professionals, registered nurses, and other healthcare professionals involved in the diagnosis and long-term management of patients with MS.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the educational activity, participants should be able to:
- Describe early peripherally-initiated (e.g., gadolinium enhancing lesions) and central (e.g., slowly
expanding lesions [SELs]) MS pathologies to raise early suspicion of MS and improve prognostication - Employ modern disease frameworks (e.g., progression independent of relapses [PIRA]) and assessment strategies (e.g., timed 25-foot walk [T25FW], nine-hole peg test [9-HPT]) to more effectively capture and monitor subclinical disease worsening
- Assess the impact of available disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on MS progression to determine for which patients these may be optimal strategies
- Evaluate the mechanisms of action, clinical profiles, and phase 2/3 data with BTKis in MS to determine their utility in potential future management
Faculty
Jiwon Oh, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FAAN (Moderator)
Medical Director, Barlo MS Program
St. Michael’s Hospital
Scientist, Keenan Research Centre Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Toronto, Canada
Stephen Krieger, MD, FAAN
Professor of Neurology
Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for MS
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY
Darin Okuda, MD, FAAN, FANA
Professor of Neurology
Director, Neuroinnovation Program
Director, Multiple Sclerosis & Neuroimmunology Imaging Program
Department of Neurology
The University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Peter O’ Donnell Jr. Brain Institute
Dallas, TX
Commercial Supporter
This activity is supported by an educational grant from Sanofi.
Accreditation
This activity is jointly provided by Medical Education Resources (MER) and Efficient LLC.
Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Medical Education Resources (MER) and Efficient LLC. MER is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Designation Statement
PHYSICIAN CREDIT
Medical Education Resources designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
NURSING CREDIT
Medical Education Resources designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 ANCC nursing contact hours. Nurses will be awarded contact hours upon successful completion of the activity.
Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships
Medical Education Resources ensures balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all our educational activities. In accordance with this policy, MER identifies relevant financial relationships with its instructors, content managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of an activity. Reported relevant financial relationships are mitigated by MER to ensure that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a CE activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis. MER is committed to providing learners with high-quality CE activities that promote improvements or quality in health care and not the business interest of an ineligible company.
Staff Disclosure
Efficient LLC and Medical Education Resources’ planners and managers have no financial relationships to disclose.
Faculty Disclosure
Dr Oh reported the following financial relationships:
- Consulting Fees: Biogen-Idec, EMD Serono, Horizon Therapeutics, Eli-Lilly, Novartis, Roche, and Sanofi-Genzyme
- Grants/Research Support: Biogen-Idec and Roche
Dr Krieger reported the following financial relationships:
- Consulting Fees: Baim Institute, Biogen, Cleveland Clinic, Cycle, EMD Serono, Genentech, Novartis, Octave, Genzyme/Sanofi, TG Therapeutics
- Grants/Research Support: Biogen, BMS, Novartis, Sanofi
- Speakers’ Bureau: Non-promotional speaking with Biogen, EMD Serono, Genentech, and TGTherapeutics.
Dr Okuda reported the following financial relationships:
- Consulting Fees: Biogen, Eisai, EMD Serono, Genentech, Genzyme/Sanofi, Moderna, RVL Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Grants/Research Support: EMD Serono/Merck, Novartis
- Royalty/Patent Owner: D.T.O. has issued national and international patents along with pending patents related to other developed technologies. D.T.O. received royalties for intellectual property licensed by The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System
Disclosure of Unlabeled Use/Disclaimer
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.
Disclaimer
The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Medical Education Resources, Efficient LLC, and/or Genentech. The authors have disclosed if there is any discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA in their presentations. Before prescribing any medicine, primary references and full prescribing information should be consulted. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management.
Method of Participation
There are no fees for participating in and receiving credit for this activity. During the period June 30, 2024 through June 30, 2025, participants must: 1) review the learning objectives and faculty disclosures; 2) watch the educational activity; 3) complete the posttest by recording the best answer to each question; and 4) complete the evaluation form.
Media
Internet
For accreditation questions, please email [email protected]