OBJECTIVES: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Early treatment of MS aids in repressing the most severe stage of acute axonal injury. The objective of this study was to characterize the proportion of MS patients who received early treatment, defined as an immunosuppressive treatment within 12 months following diagnosis.  METHODS: We identified patients with an MS diagnosis who sought care in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system from 1999-2010. The index date was the date of firs MS diagnosis. Patients who did not have at least 12 months of follow-up time were excluded. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize prescriptions for medications commonly used to treat MS in the 12 months following the index date. RESULTS: Our analysis cohort consisted of 6,011 MS patients. Mean age was 53.8 (SD 13.4) years and 80.7% were male. Race was known in 40.8%; of which most were white (80.2%) or black (16.0%). Only 35.3% of MS patients had a prescription for MS treatment in the 12 months following the index date. The most common MS treatments among MS patients were interferon beta 1a (13.2%), glatiramer (10.3%), amantadine (6.9%), prednisone (6.5%), and methylprednisolone (5.5%). Younger patients were more likely to have prescriptions. In a subset of 3,312 patients age <55, e.g., those who would be eligible for a clinical trial, 44.1% had a prescription for any immunosuppressive therapy used to treat MS. Interferon beta 1a (17.9%) was the most common treatment in this subgroup followed by glatiramer (13.6%), amantadine (8.9%), methylprednisolone (7.3%), and prednisone (6.8%). CONCLUSIONS: This descriptive analysis indicates that most patients with a diagnosis of MS do not receive early immunosuppressive therapy. Future research should identify relevant barriers to treatment and potential solutions to overcoming these barriers.