Each year, the MS Trust and many MS health professionals from up and down the country gather to hear the latest research, insight and best practice from across the MS Community. These invaluable few days give MS health professionals much needed space to think about the people with MS in their care and what the best approach to treating them might be.
As the dust settles on this year’s MS Trust Conference, we wanted to reflect on some of the key takeaways that resonated with us, and what they mean for you, the people living with MS.
The changing landscape of MS care - and what it means for you:
- Diagnosis is evolving: Following the announcement of the new McDonald criteria, the way MS is diagnosed and classified will change. In future this may mean quicker diagnosis, but also more people being diagnosed.
- Treatment decisions are complex: Choosing the right DMD (disease-modifying drug) is becoming more complicated. But there are encouraging signs that in the future AI will be able to support with increased levels of accuracy in this area.
- Data will become more vital: More data is needed to improve MS care, and your experiences are a crucial part of that. The more data MS teams can gather on individual experiences, means they can better predict the path of what is often a very unpredictable disease. Register with the UK MS Register or the Pregnancy MS Register, to consent for your MS data to be used to grow the understanding of the disease.
More than just symptoms: understanding the whole person
A big theme was the importance of having open and honest conversations - especially about sensitive topics like sex and intimacy or domestic violence. We know these can be difficult to discuss, but they're a vital part of your wellbeing. Health professionals discussed becoming more confident in having these discussions with you, so you can feel comfortable asking questions or sharing the concerns you have and getting the support you need.
Practical tools to take away
Health professionals who attend the MS Trust Conference are always on the lookout for practical information they can bring back to their practice and use to support people with MS. There were many of these on display this year, from examples of how to prevent falls in MS, practical approaches to the treatment of functional neurological disorder FND, methods to support people emotionally when dealing with an MS diagnosis and also a masterclass in DMD management.
Seminar sessions shared best practice on complex bladder and bowel issues, providing advice on what health professionals can do when standard management techniques are no longer managing symptoms and also looked at the sensitive issue of domestic violence and coercive control. A toolkit to help health professionals navigate this sensitive issue will soon be available.
A thread of hope
Hope is something that may often feel in short supply in the world today, with a volatile global political environment and our NHS facing immense challenges. But a golden thread which ran through Conference was one of optimism and hope for the future:
- Advances in AI could make a huge difference in prediction outcomes and personalised treatment plans.
- Insight and knowledge of the MS prodrome (early signs and symptoms) is gathering pace and will pave the way for earlier interventions to hopefully stop MS in its tracks.
- The challenges of advanced MS, though profound, were met with optimism that ongoing treatment advancements and improved care planning could lessen the debilitating effects of the disease.
In summary the Conference provided a wealth of information and learnings on the evolving world of MS care, many of which will be driven by advances in technology. However, the importance of the human connection and the MS health professional cannot be underestimated when treating a condition as varied and wide ranging as MS. It is a time of hope for people living with MS and we left Conference more determined than ever to make that hope a reality.
