SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

  • Day 1 Tuesday - October 21, 2025
  • Day 2 Wednesday - October 22, 2025
  • Day 3 Thursday - October 23, 2025
  • Day 4 Friday - October 24, 2025
13:00 – 14:30 Panel I: MS Biomarkers Revisited: Imaging and fluid biomarkers and beyond in the era of new diagnostic criteria
Chairs: Murat Terzi, M. Ufuk Aluçlu
  Panelists: 
Özlem Ethemoğlu, Atay Vural, Bilgin Öztürk, Sedat Şen, Mehmet Fatih Yetkin
14:30 – 15:15 Satellite Symposium- Abdi İbrahim
MS'te Dimetil Fumarat ve Teriflunomid tedavileri ve Engellilik
Chair:  
Hüsnü Efendi
  MS Tedavisinde Dimetil Fumarat ve Teriflunomid tedavileri
Serkan Demir
  Dimetil Fumarat ve Teriflunomid tedavilerinde Engellilik Verileri
Mehmet Fatih Yetkin
15:15 - 15:30 Break
15:30 – 17:00 Panel II: Managing MS: Current Treatment Options and Clinical Approaches
Chairs: Ömer Faruk Turan, Egemen İdiman
  Panelists: 
Kadriye Ağan, Esra Gürsoy, Alev Leventoğlu, Semra Mungan, Cihat Uzunköprü, Destan Bünül
17:00-17:45 Satellite Symposium- Sanovel
Chairs: Ayşe Altıntaş, Özlem Ethemoğlu
17:00-17:45 Vakalarla Teriflunomid, Dimetil Fumarat Etkinlik ve Güvenlik Verileri 
Şeyda Figül Gökçe, Rabia Gökçen Gözübatık Çelik
17:45-18:00 Break
18:00-19:00 Panel III: Young Investigators & European Charcot Foundation Fellowship Community Special Session
Chairs:
Meral Seferoğlu, Rabia Koç
18:00 – 18:05 Welcome & Introduction
Meral Seferoğlu, Rabia Koç
18:05 – 18:20 The Role of ECF with Young Researchers in MS
Marjan Steppe
18:20– 18:35 Leadership & Innovation in MS Research: A Youth-Driven Approach
Sara Samadzadeh (Virtual)
18:35 – 18:50 Being an MS Master’s Student: Academic and Clinical Reflections
Abdülkadir Tunç
18:50 – 19:00 Panel Discussion / Q&A
19:00-20:00 Panel IV: Rehabilitation in MS
Chairs: Aysun Ünal, Gürdal Orhan
  Panelist:
Cognitive Rehabilitation: Serkan Özakbaş
  Panelist: 
Physical Rehabilitation: Mesrure Köseoğlu
  Panelist: 
Artificial Intelligence & Brain-Computer Interface: Tuncay Gündüz
20:00 – 20: 20 Rational Drug Use Session
Chair: Tahir Kurtuluş Yoldaş
20:20-21:00 Break & Buffet Dinner on site
21:00-23:00 Panel V: Diagnosing MS and Related Diseases – A Special Evening Event
Chair: Sabahattin Saip
  Panelists: Münife Neyal, Özgül Ekmekçi, Sıla Usar, Burcu Altunrende, Haluk Gümüş
Case Presentations: Gökçen Gözübatık Çelik, Bedriye Karaman, Duygu Arslan Mehdiyev, İpek Güngör Doğan, Pınar Acar Özen, Ali Özhan Sıvacı
08:00-09:00 Poster Sessions
  Station 1
Chairs: Melih Tütüncü, Tuncay Gündüz
  Station 2
Chairs: Aylin Akçalı, Yusuf Tamam
  Station 3
Chairs: Dürdane Aksoy, Serkan Demir
  Station 4
Chairs: İlknur Aydın Cantürk, Münire Kılınç
  Station 5
Chairs: Sedat Şen, Haluk Gümüş
09:00-09:15 OFFICIAL OPENING & Presentation of the Istanbul MS days awards
Chairs: Rana Karabudak, Husnu Efendi, Orhun H. Kantarci, Aksel Siva
09:00-09:15 Opening address and a quick overview of the 10 years of Istanbul MS days
Aksel Siva, Rana Karabudak, Orhun H. Kantarci, Husnu Efendi & Jack P. Antel
09:15-09:30 Welcome address 1: The 45 years of MS in 15 minutes
Aksel Siva
09:30-09:45 Welcome address 2: Rumi: Between the absolutes of doing it wrong and right
Orhun H. Kantarci
09:45-10:00 Presentation of the Istanbul MS days award
Aksel Siva, Rana Karabudak, Orhun H. Kantarci, Husnu Efendi
10:00-10:30 Istanbul MS Days: Learning from our mistakes in defining diseases
Brain G. Weinshenker
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:30 SESSION-1: Learning from mistakes in science
Discussants & Chairs
: Frauke Zipp, Riadh Gouider, Cavit Boz
10:45-11:00 Introduction to the session: "Opportunities lost by dismissing or trivializing  negative findings in MS research?"
Frauke Zipp
11:00-11:20 Learning from Mistakes
Janet Hafler
11:20-11:40 Mistakes in the society
Boris Zalc
11:40-12:00 Pitfalls of genomic “big-data”
Philip L. De Jager
12:00-12:30 Q & A, Discussion
12:30-13:30 Lunch & In-Lunch Satellite Symposium - Farmanova
Chair: Aksel Siva
  A New Era of B Cell Therapies: Ofatumumab
Celia Oreja-Guevara (Virtual)
13:30-15:00 SESSION-2: Microglia in MS
Discussants & Chairs:
Jack P. Antel, Samia Khoury, Erdem Tüzün
13:30-13:45 Introduction to the session - The old friend or new foe: why did we ignore microglia all these years?
Jack P. Antel
13:45-14:05 Dynamic and changing roles of microglia in MS
Bruce Trapp (Virtual)
14:05-14:25 More questions than answers from BTK inhibitor research in MS
Amit Bar-Or
14:25-14:45 Molecular imaging is the answer - Why are you afraid of PET?
Laura Airas
14:45-15:15 Q & A, Discussion
15:15-15:30 Break
15:30-17:30 SESSION-3: Modeling MS in the future
Discussants & Chairs
:Tanja Kuhlmann, Husnu Efendi, Magd Zakaria
15:30-15:45 Introduction to the session: Rethinking Models of MS: Bridging the Gaps Between Pathology, Prediction, and Progress
Tanja Kuhlmann
15:45-16:05 Modeling MS pathology: Going beyond EAE
Hans Lassmann
16:05-16:25 Modeling the future of MS research: clinical clues that help or mislead
Andrew Chan
16:25-16:45 Modeling the future of MS research: MRI clues that help or mislead
Nicola De Stefano
16:45-17:15 Q & A, Discussion
17:15-17:30 Break
17:30-19:15 SESSION-4: Impact of hormones in neuroimmunology
Discussants & Chairs
: Sandra Vukusic, Ayşe Altıntaş, Gülşen Akman Demir
17:30-17:45 Introduction to the session: Sex Matters in MS: Potential therapeutic inertia affecting treatment in women with MS compared to men
Sandra Vukusic
17:45-18:05 What might have been missed by not running sex-specific clinical trials in MS?
Kerstin Hellwig
18:05-18:25 Impact of sex hormone switches in neuroimmunology – MS and beyond
Burcu Zeydan
18:25-18:45 Impact of sex hormones on animal models of MS
Manu Rangachari
18:45-19:15 Q & A, Discussion
19:30 Opening Reception
08:00-09:00 Oral Abstract Presentations
  Hall A - English Abstracts
Chairs: Ayşe Sağduyu Kocaman, Cihat Uzunköprü
  1. THE ROLE OF SEX AND MENOPAUSE ON CERVICAL SPINAL CORD ATROPHY IN MS
2. RELAPSİNG REMITTING MULTIPL SKLEROZ’DA HASTALIK SÜRESİNDEN BAĞIMSIZ KOGNİTİF ETKİLENİM VE YAPISAL KORELATLARI - ÖN ÇALIŞMA
3. ANTI-TNF-ALPHA ASSOCIATED CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DEMYELINATION. DRUG-INDUCED DEMYELİNATİON OR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TRIGGER? A CASE SERIES
4. RISK OF CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TREATED WITH OCRELIZUMAB: THE NATIONAL TREATMENT REGISTRY DATA
  Hall B
Chairs: Belgin Koçer, Mesude Tütüncü
  1. ROLE OF PLACENTAL EXOSOMES IN IMMUNOPATHOLOGY OF NEUROMYELITIS OPTICA SPECTRUM DISORDERS
2. HLA VARIANTS AND DISEASE-MODIFYING THERAPIES IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
3. OPTİK SİNİR TUTULUMUNUN DIS’E DAHİL EDİLMESİ VE MS TANISINDAKİ ETKİLERİ: TEK MERKEZ DENEYİMİ
4. ABSTRACT TITLE: ASSOCIATION OF LESION BURDEN AND LOCATION WITH FATIGUE AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
  Hall C
Chairs: Bilge Piri Çınar, Recai Türkoğlu
  1. RETINAL MICROVASCULARIZATION AND COGNITION IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: AN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY STUDY
2. MYELİN OLİGODENTROSİT GLİKOPROTEİN ANTİKOR-İLİŞKİLİ HASTALIK (MOGAD): KLİNİK VE RADYOLOJİK ÖZELLİKLER
3. OCRELIZUMAB: DOES IT`S MARVEL DECLINE BY AGE?
4. MULTİPL SKLEROZ HASTALARINDA HASTALIĞIN YÜRÜME FONKSİYONLARI ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİSİNİN TİNETTİ DENGE VE YÜRÜME TESTİ İLE DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ
5. PEDİATRİK MULTİPL SKLEROZ HASTALARINDA NÖROBİLİŞSEL İŞLEVLER VE RUHSAL DURUM PEDİATRİK MULTİPL SKLEROZ HASTALARINDA NÖROBİLİŞSEL İŞLEVLER VE RUHSAL DURUM DEĞERLENDİRMESİ
6. PEDİATRİK BAŞLANGIÇLI DEMİYELİNİZAN HASTALIK TANILI HASTALARIN ERİŞKİN NÖROLOJİ POLİKLİNİĞİNE DERVİNDEN SONRA İZLEMİNİN DEĞERLENDİRMESİ
  Hall D
Chairs: Belgin Petek Balcı, Yılmaz İnanç
  1. MULTİPL SKLEROZ’DA DİMETİL FUMARAT TEDAVİSİNİN SİSTEMİK İNFLAMATUAR YANIT İNDEKSİNE ETKİSİNİN İNCELENMESİ
2. IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS DIAGNOSIS CHITINASE 3 LIKE 1 AND CHITINASE 3 LIKE 2 LEVELS
3. PEDİATRİK MULTİPLE SKLEROZ HASTALARINDA İNTESTİNAL MİKROBİYOTA DEĞİŞİKLİKLERİ
4. EVALUATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF ALLOPREGNANOLONE LEVELS WİTH OXIDATIVE STRESS INDEX AND DISEASE COURSE CHARACTERISTICS IN PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
5. KLADRİBİN TEDAVİSİ ALAN MS HASTALARINDA KLİNİK SEYİR, YAN ETKİLER VE HASTA MEMNUNİYETİ: GERÇEK YAŞAM VERİLERİ
6. RELAPSING-REMITTING MULTIPLE SKLEROZ HASTALIĞINDA OCRELIZUMAB’IN BIRINCI BASAMAKTA KULLANIMI ILE YARATTIĞI MEDIKAL DEĞER
  Hall E
Chairs: Aslı Köşkderelioğlu, Levent Sinan Bir
  1. IS YOUR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENT’S PAIN JUST NEUROPATHIC OR COULD IT BE FIBROMYALGIC?
2. MULTİPLE SKLEROZLU BİREYLERDE BOYUN AĞRISININ SERVİKAL PROPRİYOSEPSİYON, ÜST EKSTREMİTE FONKSİYONELLİĞİ VE DENGE İLE İLİŞKİSİNİN İNCELENMESİ
3. MULTİPL SKLEROZ HASTALARINDA OPTİK SİNİRE AİT DİFÜZYON TENSOR GÖRÜNTÜLEME BULGULARI
4. MULTİPLE SKLEROZ’DA OKRELİZUMAB TEDAVİSİ: TEK MERKEZLİ BİR KOHORT ÇALIŞMASI
5. MULTİPL SKLEROZLU BİREYLERDE STİGMA VE YAŞAM KALİTESİ İLE ÖZÜRLÜLÜK ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİLERİ
6. CLADRIBINE AS AN EXIT THERAPY IN OLDER PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: THE CLEXIT STUDY
09:05-11:00 SESSION - 5: Myelin gets sick early in MS
Discussants & Chairs: Catherine
Lubetzki, Aslı Tuncer, Murat Kürtüncü
09:05-09:20 Introduction to the session- Myelin is not the only actor in MS
Catherine Lubetzki
09:20-09:40 More questions than answers in remyelination trials in MS
Peter Calabresi (virtual)
09:40-10:00 Interactions between astrocytes and oligodendroglia in MS
Daniel Reich
10:00-10:20 PET as a single quantitative remyelination marker for clinical trials
Bruno Stankoff
10:20-10:50 Q & A, Discussion
10:50-11:05 Break
11:05-12:50 SESSION - 6: Simplifying the clinical phenotype definitions of MS
Discussants & Chairs:
Andrew J. Solomon, Rana Karabudak, Refik Pul
11:05-11:20 Introduction to the session: Has the new diagnostic criteria increased or decreased the risk of misdiagnosis in MS globally?
Andrew J. Solomon
11:20-11:40 Single agnostic definition of MS – the imaging-clinical continuum
Orhun Kantarci
11:40-12:00 Extremes of MS - Aggressive versus benign
Ellen Mowry
12:00-12:20 Separation of targets for differing trial endpoints – PIRA vs. RAW
Daniel Ontaneda
12:20-12:50 Q & A, Discussion
12:50-13:50 Lunch & In-Lunch Satellite Symposium - Roche
Chair:
Aslı Tuncer
  Timing of Ocrelizumab in MS: Clinical Impact and Efficacy of On Time Initiation
Speaker: Angela Vidal Jordana
13:50-15:30 SESSION-7: Defining MS phenotypes by biomarkers
Discussants & Chairs:
Eric Thouvenot, Jorge Correale, Ugur Uygunoglu 
13:50-14:05 Introduction to the session: From Missteps to Milestones: Rethinking Biomarkers in MS Phenotyping
Eric Thouvenot
14:05-14:25 Biomarkers of pre-symptomatic disease in MS – lessons from RIS
Christine Lebrun-Frenay
14:25-14:45 Pre- and post-symptomatic immunophenotypes of MS
Heinz Wiendl (virtual)
14:45-15:05 Should AI care for our definitions of MS phenotypes?
Vilas Menon
15:05-15:35 Q & A, Discussion
15:35-15:50 Break
15:50-17:35 SESSION-8: Risk factor mitigation in MS
Discussants & Chairs:
Nikolaos Grigoriadis, Eda Tahir Turanlı, Yeşim Beckman
15:50-16:05 Introduction to the session: Mitigation Starts with Recognition: The Cost Of not addressing risk of MS
Nikolaos Grigoriadis
16:05-16:25 Lessons from our mistakes in epidemiology of MS
Alberto Ascherio
16:25-16:45 Is the gut the new solution for the brain?
David Hafler
16:45-17:05 EBV vaccination or microbiome transfer – which is the better path forward for MS prevention?
Thomas Berger
17:05-17:35 Q & A, Discussion
17:35-17:50 Break
17:50-19:35 SESSION - 9: Larger than life clinical trials in MS
Discussants & Chairs:
Ludwig Kappos, Hans-Peter Hartung, Melih Tutuncu
17:50-18:05 Introduction to the session: Decades of Experience in MS Therapeutic Trials: Key Lessons Learned
Ludwig Kappos
18:05-18:25 Give me the ideal clinical trial in MS - what is amiss in the past ones?
Xavier Montalban (virtual)
18:25-18:45 Real value of harmonization of imaging for clinical trials
Maria Pia Sormani (virtual)
18:45-19:05 Loosing specificity while looking for commonality and sensitivity in MS trials
Jiwon Oh
19:05-19:35 Q & A, Discussion
20:00 Leave for dinner
08:00-08:45 Morning Satellite Symposium - Alexion
Targeting the Source: Complement Blockade in NMOSD
Chair: Ayşe Altıntaş
08:00-08:10 Pathogenesis of NMOSD: Central Role of AQP4 Antibodies and the Complement System
Ayşe Altıntaş
08:10-08:20 Targeted Therapy Through Complement Inhibition
Melih Tütüncü
08:20-08:30 Clinical Efficacy, Safety, and Real-World Data of Eculizumab in NMOSD
Jin Nakahara
08:30-08:45 Q&A
All Panelists
08:45-10:15 SESSION - 10: Don’t ignore cognition in MS
Discussants & Chairs:
Anat Achiron, Najib Kissani, Serkan Demir
08:45-08:55 Introduction to the session:  We protected the brain but lost the mind in MS!
Anat Achiron
08:55-09:15 Complex imaging signatures of cognitive decline in MS
Korhan Buyukturkoglu
09:15-09:35 Impact of ethnicity on cognition in MS
Nabeela Nathoo
09:35-09:55 Roadblocks to treating cognition sufficiently in MS
Claire Riley (virtual)
09:55-10:15 Q & A, Discussion
10:15-10:30 Break
10:30-12:00 SESSION - 11: Imaging developments in MS
Discussants & Chairs:
Nur Yüceyar, Mohammad Ali Sahraian, Serhat Okar
10:30-10:40 Introduction to the session:  Rethinking what we are measuring by imaging by MRI and PET in MS
Serhat Okar
10:40-11:00 What is going on in the deep gray matter in MS
Christina Azevedo
11:00-11:20 What is going on in the normal appearing white matter in MS
Cristina Granziera
11:20-12:00 Q & A, Discussion
12:00-13:00 Lunch & In-Lunch Satellite Symposium - Merck
Chair: Rana Karabudak
  Mavenclad in MS Treatment
Refik Pul
13:00-14:45 SESSION-12: Propensity for autoimmunity
Discussants & Chairs: Hayrettin Tumani, Dicle Güç
13:00-13:15 Introduction to the session:  Common Risk Pathways in Autoimmunity
Hayrettin Tumani
13:15-13:35 A bioinformatics architecture  of susceptibility to autoimmunity
Mika Gustaffson
13:35-13:55 Role of TCR as key to autoimmunity
Batu Erman
13:55-14:15 Tregs in MS
David Hafler
14:15-14:45 Q & A, Discussion
14:45-15:00 Break
15:00-16:45 SESSION-13: Don’t ignore the children
Discussants & Chairs:
Jacqueline Palace, Sema Saltık
15:00-15:15 Introduction to the session: From Childhood to Adulthood: Unraveling CNS  Autoimmunity Across Ages
Jacqueline Palace
15:15-15:35 Why are CNS inflammatory disorders more aggressive in children
Naila Makhani (virtual)
15:35-15:55 Autoimmune leukoencephalopathies in children
Silvia Tenembaum
15:55-16:15 Differences in children’s brain imaging compared to adults in MS
Matilde Inglese (virtual)
16:15-16:45 Q & A, Discussion
16:45-17:00 Break
17:00-19:00 SESSION - 14: Advances in MOG and NMO autoimmunity
Discussants & Chairs:
Kazuo Fujihara, Nasrin Asgari, Paulus Rommer
17:00-17:15 Introduction to the session: Lessons From the Era of NMOSD as Distinct From MS at the Turn of the Millennium
Kazuo Fujihara
17:15-17:35 The Many Faces of MOG autoimmunity
Romain Marignier
17:35-17:55 Mechanism of action of MOG antibodies
Orhan Aktaş
17:55-18:15 What does MOG autoimmunity teach us about post-inflammatory CNS diseases?
Axel Petzold
18:15-18:35 The strange case of MOG- Why does it not progress like MS?
Eoin Flanagan
18:35-19:00 Q & A, Discussion
19:00-20:00 SESSION-15: Summary of the meeting
Chairs: Serhan Sevim, Nilüfer Kale İçen
Speakers: Serkan Özben, Mesude Tütüncü, Bilge Piri Çınar, Gülgün Uncu, Ahmet Kasım Kılıç
20:15 Departure for Farewell Dinner