With MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD research advancing all the time, the journey from diagnosis to living well with a neurological condition is always changing. So how can people living with MS stay engaged, educated, and empowered to make decisions about their health?
Enter Patient Community Day 2025, which will once again share the latest cutting-edge research with the people who matter most – people living with MS and related neurological conditions.
Two-way conversation at Patient Community Day
For over forty years, the ECTRIMS Congress has showcased the most ground-breaking and care-advancing research from around the world. Now in its fourth year, Patient Community Day simplifies that research and explains what it means to the everyday lives of people living with these conditions. It offers a two-way conversation between researchers and patients, so that research into MS can work on improving treatment and care in ways that matter most. It also aims to tear down the traditional silos between researchers and patients, so everyone can work together to improve lives.
What can be expected from Patient Community Day?
The programme has been developed in partnership with patient advocacy groups, researchers, and people with lived experience of MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD. It is a community effort, driven by the collective power of the 30+ supporting partners of the event, who represent and advocate on behalf of people with MS.
One aspect of the day we are particularly excited about this year is the Patient Journey session.
Moderator Brett Drummond, founder of MStranslate, will be joined by neurologists Gabriel Bsteh, Alvaro Cobo Calvo and Sudarshini Ramanathan, neuroscience and MS nurses Amy Perrin Ross and Joelle Massouh, ECTRIMS president and neurologist Bruno Stankoff, and researcher Roshan Das Nair.
Together, the panel will map out the latest developments at each step of the pathway. Using hypothetical MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD patients as examples, they will explain what the research presented at the conference could mean for:
- Diagnosis: How might new diagnostic guidelines change the way people receive a diagnosis? And how might specialist nurses support people at this stage of their journey?
- Treatment selection: How might emerging therapies change the treatment options people have available to them in the future? And how might specialist nurses support people to make a decision around what treatment is right for them?
- Rehabilitation: What does the latest research tell us about the importance of rehabilitation in MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD care? What does it mean for people living with the conditions today? And what role do specialist nurses and allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists, play?
- Lifestyle modifications: What does the latest research tell us about the role of brain health, diet, exercise, and smoking cessation in MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD? What can people really do to “help themselves”, and what support can specialist nurses and allied health professionals provide?
It is free to sign up to Patient Community Day, which will be held on 26 September 2025, from 15:00 to 18:00 CEST.
People can either attend in-person, at the CCIB Barcelona International Convention Centre, or join in online.
Register for Patient Community Day 2025
Blog courtesy of contributing writer, Amanda Barrell.