Disclosed herein are methods of treating a human patient afflicted with multiple sclerosis or presenting a clinically isolated syndrome, methods for treating a human subject by providing neuroprotection to the human subject, and methods of treating a human patient afflicted with multiple sclerosis or presenting a clinically isolated syndrome by increasing the time to confirmed disease progression, increasing the time to confirmed relapse or reducing brain atrophy in the human patient, comprising orally administering to the human patient or subject a daily dose of about 1.2 mg laquinimod or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The subject invention also provides a pharmaceutical oral unit dosage form of about 1.2 mg laquinimod or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier for use in treating a human patient afflicted with multiple sclerosis or presenting a clinically isolated syndrome.