Category Archives: MS Treatment

Treating MS early is one way to helping slow the progression of your MS. But the success of your multiple sclerosis treatment can depend on your commitment to taking your treatment consistently as prescribed. Choosing the option that's right for you may help. MS therapy is available in different formulations, including injections, infusions, or pills. Whether you're deciding on a first treatment plan or trying to evaluate whether your current therapy is still working for you, it's important to think about your personal treatment needs. Use our Treatment Selection Guide to help you organize information about the therapies you're considering. Be sure to work with your healthcare team to choose a treatment plan that works best for your lifestyle and the specific type of MS you have. Several MS treatment options offer you the flexibility to take them by yourself, whether by giving yourself an injection or taking an oral pill. How often you have to take the medication varies depending on the specific treatment. For some people with MS, the chosen course of therapy is one that must be administered by medical personnel. Infusion therapies are generally given less frequently than self-administered therapies. But they do require the supervision … Continue reading →

Multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment involves managing the symptoms as well as treating the disease before permanent damage causes additional symptoms. Although there is no cure for MS, treatments may include medications, physical and occupational therapy and experimental therapies. Nearly 45 percent of people who don't get relief from corticosteroids benefit from plasma exchange. It's not clear why plasma exchange works, but doctors believe that replacing plasma may dilute the activity of the destructive factors in the immune system. Plasma exchange is effective for people who have sudden, severe attacks of MS-related disability who don't benefit from high doses of corticosteroids. The treatment is most helpful in those who have a mild disability before the attack. Plasma exchange has no proven benefit beyond three months from the onset of neurologic symptoms. Mayo Clinic doctors generally recommend beta interferons for people who have more than one MS attack a year and for those who don't recover well from flare-ups. The treatment may also be used for people who have a significant buildup of new lesions as seen on an MRI scan, even without major new symptoms of disease activity. A number of drugs are available to help relieve MS symptoms. Your doctor … Continue reading →

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the immune system, which normally protects your body, instead attacks the covering (myelin sheath) surrounding the nerves in your brain and spinal cord. These nerves send information from your brain and spinal cord to other nerves in your body, and myelin helps make this transmission efficient. Attacks of multiple sclerosis lead to inflammation and injury to the myelin sheath, resulting in slowed or blocked nerve signals, which can lead to difficulty controlling vision, muscle coordination, strength, sensation and other bodily functions. Multiple sclerosis can affect people of any age, although symptoms most commonly occur in people 20 to 40 years old. Women are twice as likely to develop MS as are men. Read more about diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis. Experience. Each year, Mayo Clinic doctors diagnose and treat more than 3,500 adults and children with multiple sclerosis and other central nervous system disorders, including optic neuritis, transverse myelitis, neuromyelitis optica (Devic's disease) and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Doctors at Mayo Clinic evaluate and treat more than 2,500 people with multiple sclerosis. Treatment expertise. Doctors at Mayo Clinic have experience treating multiple sclerosis and helping people manage MS symptoms. Although MS can't … Continue reading →

Although there is still no cure for MS, effective strategies are available to modify the disease course, treat exacerbations(also called attacks, relapses, or flare-ups), manage symptoms, improve function and safety, and provide emotional support. In combination, these treatments enhance the quality of life for people living with MS. The following agents can reduce disease activity and disease progression for many individuals with relapsing forms of MS, including those with secondary progressive disease who continue to have relapses. Adhering to your treatment plan is the best possible strategy for managing your MSand continuing the disease-modifying medication your doctor has recommended for you is an important part of that plan. An exacerbation of MS is caused by inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) that causes damage to the myelin and slows orblocks the transmission of nerve impulses. To be a true exacerbation, the attack must last at least 24 hours and be separated from a previous exacerbation by at least 30 days. However, most exacerbations last from a few days to several weeks or even months. Exacerbations can be mild or severe enough to interfere with a persons ability to function at home and at work. Severeexacerbations are most commonly treated … Continue reading →

Multiple sclerosis facts Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease which progressively injures the nerves of the brain and spinal cord. Injury to the nerves in multiple sclerosis may be reflected by alterations of virtually any sensory or motor (muscular) function in the body. About 350,000 people in the U.S. have multiple sclerosis. To diagnose multiple sclerosis, physicians take a detailed history and may use confirmatory tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spinal taps to check for abnormalities in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or visual evoked potentials (VEPs). The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown, but it has become widely accepted that genetic, immunological, and environmental factors play a role. Multiple drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. These include injectable therapies -- which can be given either as infusions, under the skin, or into the muscle -- or oral agents. The selection of drug treatment/therapy should be made after the patient with multiple sclerosis has been properly informed of drug efficacy, particular FDA-approved uses, administration routes, risks of adverse events, and methods to enhance tolerability and compliance. What is multiple sclerosis? Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the … Continue reading →

Whether you just received a diagnosis of MS or have been living with it for a long timethis section is filled with information and tips on how to maintain your quality of life in the years ahead. Read about strategies to enhance your health and wellness, maximize your productivity and independence, and deal with emotional, social, and vocational challenges. If you or someone close to you has recently been given a diagnosis of MS, you probably have a lot of questions and concerns. Click here for information that is just for you. If you or someone close to you is living with MS that has progressed significantly, we have information just for you about treatment options, helpful resources, life planning tools and strategies, and caregiver issues. Yesyou can be healthy even if you have MS. Here is important information about preventive healthcare and the role of exercise, diet, stress management, and other complementary and alternative strategies in optimizing your general health. You will also find information about sexuality, intimacy, and pregnancy, as well as tips for keeping your life full, active, and satisfying. MS can affect your emotions as well as important cognitive functions like memory and concentration. Read about … Continue reading →

The Doll Hunters Daddy and Gracie Hit the Road For Some Fun Mommy was feeling pretty awful after her MS treatment so Daddy took Gracie out for a ride to a few of their favorite doll hunting spots to see what was new. ... By: MommyandGracieShow … Continue reading →

Dear Fellow MS Sufferer, Just summoning up the energy to read and focus on this letter can be a huge challenge to anyone with MS: the fatigue, the memory issues and coordination troubles can make it seem like fighting through a fog. But I want you to please bear with me, because the information in this letter is crucial to your health. I want to give you all the information you need to come to a full understanding of just why you are having these problems, and what can be done about them. Like you, I know what it is like to be given a diagnosis like multiple sclerosis. My journey with MS started back in 2006 when I developed Lhermittes sign painful, lightning-like sensations down the back, caused by the flexing of the neck. At the time I didnt think much of it, I saw my osteopath and she treated it and the symptoms eventually went away. But as time went on I suffered bone aching fatigue, loss of memory, depression coupled with anxiety and eventually, after a migraine that lasted four days, I lost the vision out of my right eye. I was told by everyone that it … Continue reading →

Below is a table of drugs used to treat multiple sclerosis and its symptoms. It only lists drug therapies and does not deal with other forms of therapy - I shall address these in a later section. It is vital that you are prescribed and take any of these medications in consultation with a fully qualified medical practioner who is familiar with your case history. Many of these drugs have potentially serious side-effects especially in combination with other medications. The list is by no means complete and new treatments are being researched and coming into use all the time. It should be emphasised that none of these drugs are a "cure" for either MS nor for any of its symptoms. The only medications available at the moment either slow down the course of the disease at best or are palliative on its symptoms. Very often, the "manufacturer" links in the table take you through to the specific manufacturer's data on each treatment. [The table is still being built and many of the internal links will take you to a blank page - please bear with me as I complete this project.] Go here to read the rest: Multiple Sclerosis Drug … Continue reading →

Strategies for treating MS When faced with an illness or injury, such as an infection or a broken bone, we usually think of going to a doctor and getting medicine or undergoing a procedure that will help us get back to normal again. However, when it comes to a disease like MS, we need to think a little differently when we talk about treatment. Currently there is no cure or easy fix for MS, so the goal of treatment is to manage the disease and learn to live as fully and as normally as possible. To help you do this, there are a number of effective treatment strategies to help manage relapses, to manage MS symptoms, to alter the disease course, and to take care of your body and mind through rehabilitation and psychosocial support. For many people with MS, relapses (exacerbations, attacks, or flare-ups) occur despite the use of the best and most proven disease management approaches. Relapses will typically resolve without treatment. However, if the flare-up is severe, medications can be used to help bring it under control and speed recovery. Because MS relapses involve nerve damage caused by inflammation in the CNS, the goal of treatment is … Continue reading →