This week I observed MS clinic. MS or Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune and inflammatory neurological disease of the CNS. MS attacks the myelinated axons in the CNS leading to destroy the myelin and the axons to varying degrees. The symptoms can vary a lot from not noticeable by others to completely unable to move.
Some time when they walk their leg clicks and freezes. sometime if you hit it to an object such as curb, you may get the control again. They report extremely low level of energy. Their Vitamin D level need to be under control and most of the time there is need for supplement. Specially, some medication side effects cause anxiety. This is why sometime they need to be on Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications.
During the clinic test, we time them walking fast between two point as well as walking in a straight line. Also we check the eye health (e.g. movement) as well as the vision power. Note that, one of the patient was diagnosed first by her opthamologist. Also we check the power of their arms by testing different muscle groups as well as muscle groups in legs. Then, we check if they feel a buzzer at their toes and how long they continue to feel it. We also do same test on the tip of fingers. sometime you have the feeling but you can not move the limp which suggest if the problem is in brain or spinal cord. Another test is to touch the nose and tip of the doctor's finger repeatedly. All the time we double check if they do exercise routinely as well as social activities. Both of these factors can improve the physical and mental health. Note that nap at noon can help with the lack of energy and productivity. Sometime patient sees some bugs flying around, that need to be seen by a retinologist instead of neurologist.
A main goal of MS treatment is to slow down the progression of the disease. Drugs that do this are called disease-modifying medications. One such medication is the oral drug teriflunomide (Aubagio). It was approved for use in people with MS in 2012.
A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that people with relapsing MS who took teriflunomide once a day showed significantly slower disease progression rates and fewer relapses than those who took a placebo. People given the higher dose of teriflunomide (14 mg vs. 7 mg) experienced decreased disease progression. Teriflunomide was only the second oral disease-modifying medication approved for MS treatment.
I found this video interesting:
A main goal of MS treatment is to slow down the progression of the disease. Drugs that do this are called disease-modifying medications. One such medication is the oral drug teriflunomide (Aubagio). It was approved for use in people with MS in 2012.
A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that people with relapsing MS who took teriflunomide once a day showed significantly slower disease progression rates and fewer relapses than those who took a placebo. People given the higher dose of teriflunomide (14 mg vs. 7 mg) experienced decreased disease progression. Teriflunomide was only the second oral disease-modifying medication approved for MS treatment.
I found this video interesting:
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