March is Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Month. An autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, MS affects nearly 1 million Americans, mostly people aged 20-40 and women. In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the insulation around nerve fibers, which disrupts the smooth transmission of electrical signals along the nerves.

Early symptoms of MS often include vision problems, muscle weakness and stiffness, numbness or tingling, balance difficulties, bladder issues, and dizziness. It can also cause fatigue, mood changes such as depression, and cognitive problems affecting memory, focus, and thinking.

In this video, MS experts at the University of California, Riverside describe a dramatic shift in MS research. Over the past 15 years, treatment options have grown from just a handful to more than 25. They explain how close collaboration between laboratory researchers and clinicians is accelerating the development of therapies aimed at tackling the disease.

Dr. Mahsa Khayat-Khoei is a neurologist at UCR Health who specializes in treating patients with MS and advancing research into therapies for the disease. Seema Tiwari-Woodruff is a professor of biomedical sciences at the UCR School of Medicine whose research focuses on understanding neuroinflammation and promoting myelin repair.