research group

Early Diagnosis and Prevention in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Main research area of the group

Demyelinating and neurodegenerative disorders: multiple sclerosis; biomarkers; neurophysiology; neuroimaging; early diagnosis; prevention

Leading researchers

Acad. Prof. MD, PhD, DSc Ivan Milanov, PhD, D.Sc. – Prof.

MU – Sofia, Academic of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Members of the research team:

Assoc. Prof., MD, PhD Sonya Ivanova, PhD; Assoc. Prof. MD, PhD Nikolay Topalov, PhD; Assist. Prof. MD, PhD Dimityr Taskov, PhD

Research goals

The main objective of this study is to apply an approach to identify and follow a group of patients with multiple sclerosis in the transition phase from relapsing-remitting course to secondary progression to establish sensitive, objective clinical and paraclinical biomarkers, as well as cluster characteristics to determine conversion risk. This study sets the following secondary objectives: 1. Determination of clinical signs and tests to assess depletion of neurological reserve, characteristic of the transition from relapsing-remitting to secondary-progressive course of MS. Defining screening markers for this transition 2. Determination of magnetic resonance findings as predictors of the transition to secondary progression. 3. Determining the role of sleep disorders as a factor in progression. 4. Evaluation of OCT as a method with early predictive value regarding disability and disease progression. 5. Evaluation of hyperbaric oxygenation exposure as an opportunity to delay progression relative to patient-reported outcomes.