one, Gray-Roncal says.

“I would say that’s what we need to find out and I think that’s why I’m so excited about the paper because it’s a call to more study, to actually get at those differences,” she adds.

A limitation of the study is that it represents one point in time, Gray-Roncal notes. A longer study following people across multiple years is needed, she says. The research team from this study plans to continue this work.

Among the solutions for helping Black MS patients now include early intervention, Gray-Roncal shares.

“When we see patients that come in and they’re first diagnosed, we are a little bit more vigilant and a little bit more proactive in their treatment. Some people might call it more aggressive,” Gray-Roncal says.

MS affects the brain and spinal cord with symptoms that can vary from mild to severe. It strikes almost 1 million people in the United States.

Four courses of the disease have been identified, according to the National MS Society. They include a course that involves intermittent symptoms and attacks of the disease and other courses that have a slow, insidious progression over time, Bruce Bebo, executive vice president of research for the National MS Society explains.

There have been tremendous advances in knowledge about what’s driving certain types of MS in recent years, along with an explosion of therapies, Bebo adds. The need continues for a better understanding of more progressive types of the disease.