According to a new study, people who start taking medication soon after the first signs of multiple sclerosis may have a lower risk of disability later. The authors said their results support the robustness and effectiveness of very early treatment to halt long-term disability progression, and stress that earlier detection and treatment is encouraged.

MS is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks myelin, the fatty white substance that insulates and protects the nerves. Symptoms of MS may include fatigue, numbness, tingling, or difficulty walking.

For the study, researchers looked at 580 people with a first episode of symptoms – such as tingling, numbness, muscle weakness, or problems with balance – who received at least one disease-modifying treatment. Researchers divided participants into three groups: 194 people who had their first treatment with an MS drug within six months after the first episode of symptoms, 192 people who had their first treatment between six months and 16 months, and 194 people who had their first treatment after more than 16 months.

Researchers monitored people’s disability levels and brain scans for damage to the brain and spinal cord from the disease for an average of 11 years. Disability scores ranged from zero to 10, with higher scores indicating more disability.

The earliest treatment group had a 45 percent lower risk of reaching a disability score of three by the end of the study than those in the latest treatment group. A score of three indicates people can still walk unassisted but have moderate disability in one of eight areas, such as motor function, vision or thinking skills, or mild disability in three or four areas. A total of 23 percent in the earliest treatment group reached a score of three, compared to 43 percent in the latest treatment group.

The earliest treatment group also had a 60 percent lower risk of moving to the next stage of the disease, called secondary progressive MS, than people in the latest treatment group. In this stage, disability gets steadily worse. A total of 7 percent of people in the earliest treatment group were diagnosed with secondary progressive MS compared to 23 percent of people in the latest treatment group.

Researchers discovered that people with the earliest treatment were 50 percent more likely to remain stable at their disease level one year after their initial treatment than those in the latest treatment group. They also found that people from the earliest treatment group had a lower disability progression rate and lower severe disability in a self-reported test compared to those in the latest treatment group.

A limitation of the study was that it only included patients between ages 16 to 50 at the time of first symptoms, so the results could not be applied to patients over age 50, or late-onset MS.

The study was published in the journal Neurology.