Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month 2016
March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month 2016.
In honor of the event we have produced an MS Awareness Facebook Page cover. We would ask that you place it on your place just for one hour to help us promote Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month 2016 and MS awareness in general.
Thanks for your support!
New Multiple Sclerosis Treatment
Studies funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society [1] have made what could be a promising development in the treatment of MS. Dr Raju Kapoor [2] and his team at University College London published the results of their study in the Lancet [3] a couple of weeks ago, leading to excitement over what these findings could mean for the future of MS treatment. MS is a condition which causes a good deal of suffering so, while these results do not, perhaps, suggest a complete cure, they may well help to improve the quality of life of sufferers.
What Is MS?
Multiple Sclerosis is a condition which attacks the central nervous system. Just like electrical cables, the nerves in our body are protected by ‘insulation’. This insulation comes in the form of a coating known as the ‘myelin sheath’. For reasons as yet unknown [4], the immune systems of people with MS mistakenly attack the myelin sheath. Just as when the insulation on your electric cables gets worn and your electrical goods start to malfunction, this means that signals travelling along affected nerves get disrupted. The symptoms of the disease vary considerably depending upon which nerves are affected. However, it can be an intensely painful and life-altering condition.
Many people affected will suffer from reduced mobility, weakness, and dizzy spells. They may also experience mood swings – partly as a result of the disease itself, and partly as a result of the frustrating pain and stress which it brings in its wake [5]. Though the condition can sometimes be managed for many years with treatment, there is as yet no cure, and sufferers may lead very uncomfortable lives.
Potential New Treatment
The research done by Dr Kapoor and the UCL team could have great implications for the management of this painful condition. Dr Kapoor and his team took a sample of 86 people affected with optic neuritis – a type of MS affecting the optic nerve – and tested them (in a placebo-controlled manner) by attempting to block sodium ions from entering their nerve cells. Sodium induced nerve damage is thought to be a major contributor to the symptoms of MS, so researchers were hopeful that blocking sodium within the nerves could at the very least reduce symptoms and prolong the quality of life of MS sufferers. When trialled, the results showed that those MS sufferers who underwent the true experiment experienced 30% less damage to their nerve fibres over the trial period than those who underwent the placebo experiment. This indicates that such methods could help to slow the course of progressive MS, and make life a lot easier for sufferers.
Moving Forward
Encouraging though these results are, these are still very early days. It will take a while (and a lot more testing) before any treatment based upon these results can be dispensed to patients. Much of the operation of MS still remains a mystery – and the less we know about what causes and perpetuates it, the less information we have to work with when finding a cure. Nonetheless, these results represent a great step forward, and one which could potentially bring comfort and relief to many people currently suffering from this nasty illness. There are also plenty of other avenues of research always being explored, as well as methods to make the lives of MS sufferers easier, and campaigns to reduce any ignorance and stigma which may affect people who suffer from it. Scientists are hopeful that we can at the very least bring the quality of MS sufferers’ lives to normal or near normal levels over the next decade or so – and a great breakthrough regarding cause and cure can surely not be far off [6]!
[1] MS Society, “Promising trial could lead to new type of MS treatment”, Jan 2016
[2] UCLH, “Dr Raju Kapoor”
[3] Rhian Raftopoulos, Simon J Hickman, Ahmed Toosy, Basil Sharrack, Shahrukh Mallik, David Paling, Daniel R Altmann, Marios C Yiannakas, Prasad Malladi, Rose Sheridan, Ptolemaios G Sarrigiannis, Nigel Hoggard, Martin Koltzenburg, Claudia A M Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott, Klaus Schmierer, Gavin Giovannoni, David H Miller, Dr Raju Kapoor, “Phenytoin for neuroprotection in patients with acute optic neuritis: a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial”, The Lancet Neurology, Jan 2016
[4] NHS, “Multiple Sclerosis – Causes”
[5] PsychGuides, “Anger Symptoms, Causes and Effects”
[6] Sarah Knapton, “‘Miracle’ stem cell therapy reverses multiple sclerosis”, The Telegraph, Mar 2015
Brain Fog.
Cognitive Dissonance.
Fibro fog.
Or even clouding of consciousness.
Lots of conditions such as multiple sclerosis can cause brain fog so we thought we would share these great tip.s with our readers!
For more ideas please have a look at our previous blog on the subject of brain fog. With over 200 comments from readers.
Intratherapy – pumps and multiple sclerosis
The intrathecal pump delivers a small dose directly into the aforementioned intrathecal space, delivering the drug directly to the spinal cord. This is beneficial because a pill travels around the body first, which doesn’t allow the full dose into the spinal canal.
The pump will be programmed specifically for the exact dose a patient needs, and can even give different amounts at different points in the day. For example a patient who is having trouble sleeping could receive more at night in order to sleep through the night. It could also vary from day to day depending on a patient’s schedule, allowing the patient to receive more or less on days where they exercise.
Multiple studies show that it significantly reduces spasticity and spasms, as well as allowing the patient to become more independent. In addition, the pump can make life much easier on the caregiver, as there is no need to worry about taking a medication at certain times.
Basic Home Infusion is a company that greatly benefits patients who have chosen the pump. They will handle 100% of the pump management, including pump refills, dose adjustments, scheduling, bridge bolus and any other issues that may arise. Best of all, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home, office, school or nursing home.
Patient Talk asks ” Have you used a pump like this to treat your MS? If so please share your story in the comments section below”
Thanks very much in advance.
Multiple Sclerosis
As many of you know by now that in the past I spend 10 or you years working in healthcare survey research.
Much of my time was spend pouring over government produced statistical data which I found later to be complete rubbish.
Now this is particularly the case with multiple sclerosis. The data published regarding types of MS, for example, has always when I have conducted private polling been shown to totally wrong. You can check out some of the data I recently collected here.
The figure given when it comes to the sex of people with multiple sclerosis is that only 20% are male. Now I’m very interested to see if this is true. To do so it would be great if you could share some information in the poll below.
“Multiple sclerosis and gender. Which gender do you identify with?”
I’ve used this particular language because I don’t want to offend anyone so it seemed the easiest way to ask it.
We do need as many people to respond to the poll as possible. It would be great if you could share this page and poll with as many people with multiple sclerosis as you can.
Thanks very much in advance.