Should your neurologist be offering you the most effective MS drugs soon after diagnosis, before you have any evident disability? The opinion of doctors at Barts (a hospital at the forefront of MS treatment) is that they should. Here's what the doctor said on the Barts MS Blogspot today: " I was asked an opinion about a young woman with newly diagnosed MS who had had two disabling relapses in the last 8 months (optic neuritis and ataxia) and made a good recovery from the attacks as was fully functional. Her MRI has a moderate lesion load with posterior fossa lesions and two Gd-enhancing lesions. When I suggested to her neurologist that in addition to the platform therapies he should also offer her the option of being treated with either alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) or natalizumab (Tysabri). He was shocked and said: 'But isn't that being a bit aggressive, she doesn't have any disability yet'. I had to remind him that she fulfilled NHS England criteria for both alemtuzumab and natalizumab. It is clear that our 'Brain Health: Time is Brain' message is not appreciated by all neurologists. The use of DMTs as a preventive therapy, i.e. to prevent future disability and to maximise lifelong brain health, has not sunk in yet." This is a message for everyone who has been diagnosed with MS in the last year or two. If you receive early effective treatment, your MS may never have a big effect on your life. I think that's what we would all want. Be aware that your neurologist may not offer you the drugs you need - you may have to ask for them.