Bruton ’s Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment

Multiple sclerosis (MS) can cause significant disability to patients via relapse-associated worsening and progression independent of relapses. The causes of neuronal and myelin damage can include lymphocyte-mediated inflammation and microglial activation. Bruton ’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is an enzyme that mediates B cell activation and the proinflammatory phenotype of microglia. Inhibiting BTK provides a novel therapeutic target for MS but also has a complicated pharmacology based on binding specificity, CNS penetration, half-life, and enzyme inhibition ch aracteristics. Multiple agents are being studied in phase 3 trials, and each agent will have unique efficacy and safety profiles that must be considered individually.
Source: Neurologic Clinics - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research