SPMS is primarily considered a progressive disease course because it marks the transition from the inflammatory process that occurs in relapsing-remitting MS to a process characterized by gradual destruction and loss of nerve fibers. Of the 85 % of people initially diagnosed with RRMS, approximately half will transition to SPMS within 10 years, and 90% will transition within 25 years. Once this transition occurs, a person will gradually experience fewer relapses (also called attacks or exacerbations), and possibly none at all. In those people who continue to experience relapses, this disease course is considered relapsing as well as progressive.
What We Know About Secondary-Progressive MS (SPMS)
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