Oct 04

Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Guidelines

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) provides multiple sclerosis treatment guidelines.  According to NICE, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system, which consists of the brain and the spinal cord.  It occurs when white matter within the brain or spinal cord becomes inflamed and then destroyed by the person’s own immune system.  Eventually these areas become scarred, which gives the disease its name: multiple (areas of the brain or spinal cord) sclerosis (hardening).

There are three different patterns of multiple sclerosis, which include:

Relapsing/remitting MS – In this patter periods of good health are followed by the sudden onset of symptoms or relapses.

Secondary progression of MS – Symptoms gradually worsen with fewer remissions (about 50% of people with relapsing/remitting MS develop secondary progressive MS within 10 years of having the disease).

Primary progressive MS – Symptoms gradually worsen over time, only about 10-15% of people with MS have this form at onset.

According to NICE’s multiple sclerosis treatment guidelines, any individual who is suspected of having MS should be referred to a neurologist and seen in a short amount of time.  The individual should then be seen and examined in order to confirm or refute the diagnosis.  The service should give the impressionof being seamless from the individual’s perspective, with every health organization sharing and transferring the information about people with MS.

 

Upon the Diagnosis of MS

 

NICE’s multiple sclerosis treatment guidelines state that a physician should systematically rule out any other possible problems which could be contributing to the patient’s fatigue, cognitive impairment, impaired sexual function, and/or reduced bladder control.  After a thorough assessment and diagnosis, multiple sclerosis should be treated in the following manner, according to NICE’s multiple sclerosis guidelines:

  • Any person who experiences an acute episode should be offered high-dose corticosteroids such as 500 mg- 1g of intravenous methylprednisolone for 3-5 days or a dosage of 500 mg – 2 g of oral methylprednisolone for 3-5 days.
  • Prior to administering these dosages, a person with MS should have the risks and benefits of taking corticosteroids explained to them.
  • An individual should be given support and referred to a specialist neurological rehabilitation service.
  • People with MS should be advised that taking 17-23 grams of linoleic acid a day may reduce the progression of MS.  Linoleic acid can be found in sunflower, corn, soya, and safflower oils.
  • People with MS should be offered an immunization against influenza and are able to have any other immunizations that they need since there is no known cause of immunizations leading to relapses in MS.

Oct 04

MS Illness

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, or the central nervous system (CNS).  A MS illness is much more likely to affect a woman than it is a man, and people with the disorder are usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40. In MS the myelin sheath which surrounds the nerve cells becomes damaged causing a wide range of symptoms such as:

Muscle symptoms:

  • Loss of balance
  • Muscle spasms
  • Numbness or abnormal sensation in any area
  • Problems moving arms or legs
  • Problems walking
  • Problems with coordination and making small movements
  • Tremor in one or more arms or legs
  • Weakness in one or more arms or legs

 

Bowel and bladder symptoms:

  • Constipation and stool leakage
  • Difficulty beginning to urinate
  • Frequent need to urinate
  • Strong urge to urinate
  • Urine leakage (incontinence)

 

Eye symptoms:

  • Double vision
  • Eye discomfort
  • Uncontrollable rapid eye movements
  • Vision loss (usually affects one eye at a time)

Numbness, tingling, or pain:

  • Facial pain
  • Painful muscle spasms
  • Tingling, crawling, or burning feeling in the arms and legs

 

Other brain and nerve symptoms:

  • Decreased attention span, poor judgment, and memory loss
  • Difficulty reasoning and solving problems
  • Depression or feelings of sadness
  • Dizziness and balance problems
  • Hearing loss

 

Sexual symptoms:

  • Problems with erections
  • Problems with vaginal lubrication

 

Speech and swallowing symptoms:

  • Slurred or difficult-to-understand speech
  • Trouble chewing and swallowing

 

Fatigue is a common and bothersome symptom which worsens as MS progresses.  It is often worse in the late afternoon.

 

MS Illness Treatment

 

The goal of medical treatment in MS is to control the symptoms so that the person with the MS illness can maintain their quality of life.  According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH.gov), medications which may be used in the treatment of MS on a long-term basis include:

  • Interferons (Avonex, Betaseron, or Rebif)
  • Glatiramer acetate (Copaxone)
  • Mitoxantrone (Novantrone)
  • Natalizumab
  • Fingolimod (Gilenya)
  • Methotrexate
  • Azathioprine
  • Intraveneous immunoglobulin
  • Cyclophosphamide

 

Steroids may also be used to decrease the severity of attacks and medicines such as Lioresal (Baclofen) or tizanidine (Zanaflex) may be used to reduce muscle spasms in people with MS.  Other medications may be prescribed to control symptoms such as urinary problems, depression, and fatigue.  Many people consider therapies helpful in the treatment of their MS illness.  The types of therapies that may be used in the treatment of a MS illness are:

  • Physical therapy
  • Speech therapy
  • Occupational therapy
  • Planned exercise
  • Counseling services

Jun 02

What Causes Multiple Sclerosis – Get Natural MS Cures

If you get diagnosed with multiple sclerosis it can be a very scary and painful disease. About half of the people that get this diagnosis claims to have intense pain. Usually the person who experiences this kind of discomfort will become very fatigued and their muscles and joints areas. Studies show that most of the people that get diagnosed with MS are young and in most cases women. Also they have found that many people come from European descent and in a lot of cases were born in northern climates. Usually it takes several years for the body to break down with this disease.

There are many advancements in treating MS and it is important that they continue with stem cell research so they can eventually find a cure. There are many foods and vitamin supplements that you can take that will help to reverse some of the symptoms that you have from MS. With any disease you should try to learn as much information as possible so that you can reduce the amount of symptoms that you will have. Multiple sclerosis can attack the nervous system and this can cause you great discomfort. If you have MS and are having a hard time doing simple task is operating a computer you need to find some of the technological advancements that are available for you.

Remember that if you have multiple sclerosis or many things that you can do to help treat this disease. You need to get educated and understand what foods and supplements can help you to reduce the amount of pain you have. Also there are treatments that are available to you they can have great effects on your mobility.

Jun 02

Healthy Cures For MS

While the medical community continues its search for cures for MS perhaps they are looking in the wrong direction. Seeking to cure everything with more and stronger drugs may not always be the answer. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system of the body attacks perfectly normal cells under the premise that they are harmful and need to be destroyed. The destruction of these cells occurs in the brain and myelin sheath of the spinal cord.

Research has shown that this is a modern disease and has become prevalent among the affluent temperate nations in the world. In the warmer climates where people are poor there are almost no reported cases of MS. Cures therefore should be looked at from the angle of what is it that these poor nations have that the wealthier ones do not. They must have something that is preventing them from contracting this devastating disease.

The current diet of most people affected by multiple sclerosis is one that is high in saturated fats and processed foods. MS sufferers also typically live in areas where the amount of natural sunlight they are exposed to is somewhat limited. This combination provides them with few of the natural vitamins and minerals that their body requires for healthy survival. Perhaps then we should look to the nations who have no processed foods and live in hot arid climates with plenty of sunshine year round for the cures for MS.

Over the years many supplements and diets have been touted as cures for MS, most of them have at best had limited success if any at all. The human body requires some 92 naturally occurring minerals to thrive; today’s foods only contain traces of 8 of them. Could this mineral deficiency be a contributor to a person developing multiple sclerosis? Some researchers believe that by changing a patient’s diet to include foods that are high in these mineral along with essential fatty acids and vitamins can go a long way to helping find a way to cure multiple sclerosis. Many patients who have made these dietary changes have reported the disappearance of lesions in their MRI scans and have not had relapses for years.