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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 glatiramer acetate, Fingolimod, Siponimod, natalizumab, alemtuzumab, and ocrelizumab. However, we found insufficient proof to claim that changes in these surrogate markers can be explained by remyelination alone.

Conclusions

Future proof-of-concept clinical trials investigating remyelinating agents in MS should consider combining outcome measures into composite endpoints. Furthermore, research efforts should be dedicated to novel biomarkers to assess repair mechanisms in MS.

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