Will medication really slow MS progression?

Here is My Question:
I was just diagnosed with MS and was told I am at the early stages. Will medication actually slow progression or does this depend person to person? They prescribed Kesmipta, how well is this new injection?

Answer:
Catching the MS disease process early is important since all therapeutic options (called disease modifying therapies or DMTs) only help prevent new inflammatory damage to your nervous system.  At this point in time, there is no reparative therapeutics. Based on various prognostic factors, some patients may be at higher risk of significant disability in the years to come IF they are not started and maintained on a good DMT.  Kesmipta is the newest in a class of highly effective DMTs called the b-cell biologics.  These are very powerful therapies that have the potential to put the patient in a permanent remission state that is called “no evidence of disease activity”.  Kesmipta is given by injection (at home).  If you search this site for what the b-cell biologics can do for MS, it is best to search using Rituximab (or Rituxan) which was the first approved b-cell biologic.  The other b-cell therapuetics are given by infusion at infrequent intervals (ie, once semiannually or potentially annually).

A. Scott Nielsen MD MMSc
Neurologist and MS Specialist at Kaiser Permanente