MS Research

Multiple Sclerosis is an auto-immune disease which is chronic and often disabling. The body’s own defense system attacks the central nervous system which is made up of the spinal cord, brain, and optic nerves. This disease is unpredictable; there is no way to know what neurological damage will occur. Symptoms of MS may be as mild as tingling in peripheral limbs or severe as paralysis and blindness.
The process of MS begins when the white blood cells, part of the immune system, attack the myelin sheaths of the brain nerve fibers. The myelin sheaths are made up of fatty tissue and allow nerve impulses to be transferred throughout the brain and into the body. When the myelin sheaths are destroyed this can cause damage to the nerve itself or it can cause scarring (sclerosis) which gives this disease its name. This destruction or damage to the nerve fiber can distort or interrupt the impulses throughout the brain causing a variety of different symptoms.

There is new research and advances in medicine being done every day that gives hope to those affected by MS. People with MS learn to cope with the disease and go on to lead productive lives to the best of their ability. The best chance of fighting MS and leading a satisfying life is to couple an immune system modulator treatment with exercise.
This disease affects 1 out of every 750 people in US, and begins around the ages of 20 to 40. Two hundred people are diagnosed with MS per week. People are becoming more aware of MS and its complications, and it is our job as future health care professionals to be attentive of the signs and symptoms to help those around us.

Symptoms

The symptoms that occur early for MS patients are numbness and tingling in the arms, legs, or anywhere on the body, vision irregularities, fatigue, cognitive impairments, and bladder and bowel problems. MS can cause a lot of different symptoms and therefore it is hard to detect. As already discussed this disease gets it name from scarring or sclerosis on the brain; it also refers to the multiple symptoms it can cause because of the multiple places of the scarred nerve fibers. The main way to diagnose Multiple Sclerosis is to perform tests such as a MRI to scan for lesions on the brain, sampling the CSF to study the antibodies, and deep tendon reflexes that will give a positive result for any neurological condition. As found in our text book, it portrays the problems that can occur when detecting MS. As an athletic trainer you find that most athletes will claim that fatigue is common, whereas sixty percent of MS patients explain that fatigue is the worst symptom of their disease.

Interesting Facts About MS

Genetics

The exact cause of Multiple Sclerosis is unknown. This disease is not contagious or directly inherited. However, it is known that there are genetically susceptible individuals. They have found that every person in the US has a 1 in 750 chance to be affected by this disease. If a sibling, parent, or non-identical twin is a MS sufferer you have a 1 in 40 chance. If you are identical twins, obviously with identical genetics, you only have a 1 in 4 chance; therefore, showing that genetics isn’t the only key.

Geography

The environment in which you live also has some sort of role in MS susceptibility. MS is more common in the northern latitudes. The closer you live to the equator the less common developing MS is.

Gender

Women are two to three more times likely to be affected by Multiple Sclerosis. This is common in all auto-immune diseases. Like other MS factors, this is under research to see if hormones play a role.

Quiz: http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/quizzes-tools-263081.html

Why am I interested?

Miracle Drug Helps Multiple-Slerosis Patients

May 1,2007

Clint Rydalch of Kamas, Utah was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis the day before Thanksgiving in 2006. It wasn't long before he became so sick, he couldn't do anything but lie in bed. He couldn't remember his wife and children and had to rely on a feeding tube to stay alive.

His doctor decided to try Tysabri, a new drug administered intravenously once a month. The drug, approved by the FDA only recently, works by blocking cells that damage the protective sheath around nerves.

One day after his first treatment, Clint was talking and moving again. Today, after four treatments, he's back to work part-time.

Tysabri isn't for everyone. It only works for certain kinds of multiple sclerosis, and it should only be used as a last resort because of its potential side effects. But for patients like Clint, the results can be life-changing.

"In a fairly large number, we're seeing a reversal or improvement of symptoms, in some case to a fairly dramatic degree," said Salt Lake City neurologist Dr. John Foley.

Clint agrees, "From day one, we started noticing miracles."

MS Treatments

The type of medication that will be used to treat MS will depend on the stage of MS, relapsing-remitting vs. progressive treatments. The differences between the two types of drugs are based on the fact that the relapsing patients are just trying to prevent their immune system from attacking the brain; whereas, the progressive patients are just trying to manage their resulting symptoms.

I have decided to research the relapsing-remitting drugs available because that is where the most current pharmacology research is being done and clinically tried. The more common and FDA approved relapsing-remitting drugs are known as Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone, Novantrone, Rebif, and Tysabri.

Avonex

Avonex is the number one prescribed MS therapy. It is a once a week interferon beta-1 treatment of self subcutaneous injections. It slows down physical disability progression by 37% and it slows down brain atrophy. “Avonex has been proven effective in clinical trials lasting up to 3 years.” The side effects can be serious, severe allergic reactions, drop in white or red blood cell levels, heart problems, changes in thyroid function, seizures, or liver problems.

Tysabri

Studies:

Tysabri is a laboratory-produced monoclonal antibody. It is designed to hamper movement of potentially damaging immune cells from the bloodstream, across the “blood-brain barrier” into the brain and spinal cord. Tysabri was evaluated in a pair of two-year, controlled clinical trials:
Study I compared Tysabri to placebo in patients who had not received any interferon-beta or glatiramer acetate for at least the previous six months.
Study II involved patients who had experienced one or more relapses while on treatment with Avonex®. Half of the group took Tysabri in addition to their Avonex; half of the group took Avonex plus a placebo.
In both studies, those taking the medication had a reduced risk of disability progression and experienced fewer exacerbations (relapses) compared with the group taking a placebo. Tysabri has not been studied in people with primary progressive MS or in children.

Why is Tysabri Different?
The difference between Tysabri and the other interferon drugs is that Tysabri is an antibody. It inhibits white blood cells from entering the blood brain barrier and attacking the nerves. The interferon drugs are proteins which defend cells against viral attacks. “The way that Tysabri works has been studied, but the exact way that Tysabri works in unknown.”
Tysabri is an injection intravenously once a month, which differs from other MS treatment. “Tysabri is available only through the Touch Prescribing Program, which stands for Tysabri Outreach: Unified Commitment to Health. Only prescribers and patients enrolled in the Touch Prescribing Program can prescribe and receive Tysabri. Only certain pharmacies and infusion sites authorized by the Touch Prescribing Program can dispense and infuse Tysabri.”

Side Effects

Tysabri has many side effects like the other MS treatments; however, it also increases your chance of getting a rare brain infection called progressive mulitfocal leukiencephalopathy. The chances of getting this infection increase because no white blood cells can enter the brain to fight infection. This brain infection usually causes death or severe disability.

There were three cases where patients taking Tysabri were diagnosed with the fatal brain infection, which caused Biogen to withdraw Tysabri from the market in 2005. The FDA formally agreed to allow Tysabri back on the market, even though they still do not understand the exact correlation between Tysabri and PML. However, now being approved for the second time the FDA is requiring that patients try other MS treatments first before Tysabri, acknowledging Tysabri as a second-line drug.

Why Exercise?

The majority of people with MS do not become severely disabled. Most struggle with muscle weakness, problems with walking, and issues with balance. This is where exercise can vastly increase the quality of life. The stronger you are physically it helps you mentally. In our book it discusses the benefits of mild to moderate exercise with MS patients:

• 
  · Decrease fatigue
  · Allows more independent functioning
  · Helps overcome depression
  · Improves

• 1. stamina
  2. strength
  3. muscle tone
  4. balance
  5. coordination
  6. overall moodsense of well-being

Watch this video: http://www.webmd.com/video/multiple-sclerosis-and-exercise

Conclusion

Multiple Sclerosis patients benefit from immune system modulators and exercise. The immune system modulators effectively prevent any further relapses or lesions on the brain. Exercise can improve the quality of life by overcoming symptoms of MS such as fatigue, balance, and strength. Coupled together people can easily continue on leading successful and productive lives.

You'll move. You'll be moved. Join Walk MS in your community. Joining the movement with hundreds of thousands of people across the country is an experience like no other. We walk together to make a powerful statement, and to keep moving toward a cure. Form or join a team, raise funds and walk to help people affected by MS. Each step you take brings us closer to a world free of MS.