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The committee feels that each of the research strategies listed below should be actively supported. However, which among them should take priority at any one time should be determined by a mix of scientific opportunity and institutional concerns, which will be different for different organizations, be they federal research sponsors or charitable health organizations. The most productive research strategies for an organization such as the MS Society will be influenced by the activities (or lack thereof) of the relevant federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Veteran's Administration, and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, as well as those of other private organizations that sponsor research relevant to MS.

This chapter does not include numerous other committee recommendations that cover specific aspects of MS-related research, especially the recommendations dealing with specific symptoms or alternative medicine. These areas of research are covered individually in the pertinent chapters. The recommendations below are for research areas that the committee believes hold the greatest promise for developing treatments that can prevent or cure MS and for improving the lives of people with MS. They are organized into specific recommendations for the following: