THEto multiple sclerosis in Italy it affects 150,000 people, with over 3,600 new diagnoses every year. The disease affects mostly young people and adults between 20 and 40 years old, especially womenwith a ratio of 3 to 1 compared to men. It is a chronic, complex and in many cases progressive and disabling disease, for which there is not yet a definitive cure. On the occasion of World Multiple Sclerosis Day which is celebrated on May 30th, Let’s discover with the experts the progress made and what still needs to be done.
Multiple Sclerosis: the goals achieved
Over the last twenty years, research has made enormous progress. Increasingly early diagnoses, highly effective and personalized therapiesadvanced monitoring tools and access to treatment paths today allow us to slow down the progression of the disease. In this way it is also possible to postpone the achievement of a serious disability for decades. For many people it means being able to live with a manageable condition: a concrete basis for building quality of life. To do this, however, Medicines are not enough, we need an integrated service system and a truly inclusive society. Today a person with multiple sclerosis needs the concrete possibility of access integrated care, rehabilitation, psychological support, assistance and support programs. And above all, being able to participate in a society that allows people to contribute according to their possibilities, in an inclusive and flexible world of work, with truly guaranteed rights and concrete opportunities for social participation.
The gap between research and real life: data from the 2026 Barometer
The data of Barometer of MS and related diseases 2026 show a still deep gap between what research makes possible today and what people actually manage to experience every day. Where services are lacking, individuals and families must organize care independently and therefore book services themselves: specialist visits, magnetic resonance imaging, instrumental tests, laboratory tests. This has happened to more than 50% of patients. 31.6% had to go private and pay for rehabilitation, which is an essential component of the treatment, 41.1% did so to see other specialists, 61.2% did so to receive psychological support and therapy. The framework of social and socio-health services is even more problematic: over 57% of people in need of home care say they do not receive it. For many people, the daily management of the disease continues to translate into opportunities taken away from work, relationships and their life plan. The social cost of MS today reaches 6.9 billion euros per year and the loss of productivity and autonomy of people and caregivers remains one of the heaviest impacts for the community.
An obstacle to the realization of your dreams
The 60% of people with MS report experiencing discrimination in their daily lives and the 65.8% encounter obstacles and barriers in at least one place in their lives. A third of people with MS feel they cannot succeed in life, and the figure exceeds 50% among those with moderate disabilities and reaches 60% for those with severe disabilities. The level of disability dramatically impacts both on possibility of finding and keeping a suitable job. 57.7% of those with moderate disabilities and 69.5% of those with severe disabilities are unable to do sothan to live their free time freely: 59% of those with moderate disabilities and 71.2% of those with severe disabilities cannot do so.
Multiple Sclerosis: the 2030 Agenda
The MS and related pathologies 2030 Agenda is born. Not a list of things to do, but a clear and actionable framework of shared priorities, capable of transforming knowledge, innovation and rights already available into concretely accessible and sustainable opportunities in the lives of people with MS and related pathologies. «The point it is not just strengthening services where they are still lacking, but making what is already possible today work in a coherent and accessible way. Today the Third Sector does not limit itself to representing needs: it participates in the construction of public policies and models of change.
AISM brings sixty years of experience, MS Barometer data and Agenda priorities to decision-making places, contributing every day to transform knowledge and real needs into concrete and actionable changes. The challenge today is move from a system to which people must adapt to a system capable of adapting to people», he underlines Francesco VaccaNational President of AISM.
The importance of research
The role of scientific research is central, a true ‘lever of levers’, not only for the development of new therapies, but also to build increasingly personalized, accessible and sustainable treatment systems. In the last five years IMF has invested over 40 million euros in research, supporting projects that have produced more than 800 scientific publications. He thus contributed to making Italy the second country in the world for scientific production on MS. «Research has radically changed the outlook for multiple sclerosis. Now this change must come into people’s daily lives. Innovation cannot remain confined to centers of excellence. It must become uniform access, real care and an enforceable right for all people with MS and related pathologies regardless of where they live”, he concludes Mario Alberto BattagliaPresident of the FISM and President of the International MS Federation.