Barcelona from Parc Guell

Poster presentation

The annual meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) was held in Barcelona September 24-26, 2025. I found the meeting quite interesting this year as there were multiple presentations relevant to my primary research interest, the role of Epstein-Barr virus in MS. Simon Thebault reported that the number of EBV infected cells is increased in both blood and spinal fluid of people with MS. Roberta Magliozzi reported that EBV infected cells are present in the brain of people with MS, and that many of the infected cells are actively growing. And my collaborator Denise Doolan from Australia presented the results of our recent study of antibodies to EBV in both blood and spinal fluid which demonstrated that MS has increased antibodies to particular EBV proteins. There were also some presentations with clinical usefulness now or in the near future. There is a lot of interest in CAR-T cells which are able to enter the brain from the blood and eliminate white blood cells that are causing damage and promising results from early studies with small numbers subjects. A trial of ocrelizumab in people with primary progressive MS and more severe disability showed a definite slowing of progression. And in children with MS, ocrelizumab treatment led to better results than fingolimod.