Unfortunately, there are a number of reasons that make progressive disease difficult to clinically study in a rigorous manner:
1. For one, there are poor animal models of progressive disease, which makes doing basic laboratory research challenging. Dr. Mueller in our lab is working on such an animal model.
I have to start by saying that every patient with MS is different so you really do need to speak to your doctor. Fingolimod (Gilenya) was approved about one year ago. There were some safety concerns in the trial including two fatal infections in a higher dose and multiple low-grade cancers in the currently available dose so we have been cautious about its use. However, no new safety concerns have arisen in the year since it has been on the market. The phase III trials for teriflunomide and BG 0012 were just completed with impressive safety and good efficacy results.
By: Dr. Deneb Bates
Dietary supplements can support the general and neurological health of people with Multiple Sclerosis, as well as manage symptoms and minimize side-effects from medications. Although supplements are generally easy to get over the counter or at health food stores, just because it says “natural” doesn’t mean it is safe for everyone, especially if you have Multiple Sclerosis.
By: Dr. Deneb Bates
There are a number of diets marketed for people with MS with a wide-range of recommendations: low-fat, no grains, low animal proteins, gluten or dairy free… Not only is diet a difficult thing to objectively study, but the available data of these approaches has been inconsistent. The truth is that these recommendations are not a successful one-size-fits-all approach for people with MS. While a particular diet may be helpful to some patients, they don’t apply to everyone.
By: Dr. Deneb Bates
By: Dr. James Stark
By: Dr. James Stark
James McKee, R.N. is the nurse manager of our infusion suite and runs infusions on most weekdays. For your convenience, the suite is open seven days a week with a few closures around certain holidays (generally the weekends over Martin Luther King, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.) When James is not running the suite, we have a number of well qualified, oncology-trained nurses on staff. An IMSMP physician is always present in the center while IV treatments are in process.
Follow-up visits with the physicians are generally 45 minutes long. Prior to the physician visit, a nursing assessment is also performed. The nursing assessment consists of checking vital signs, reviewing medications and discussing current problems, among other things. The physician and the nurse will then consult for a few minutes prior to your evaluation with the doctor.
Unfortunately, spinal taps (or lumbar punctures) have a negative reputation in the community. This is because the procedure is most often done under less than ideal conditions in an emergency setting for various serious conditions. The physicians at the IMSMP perform hundreds of spinal taps per year under very different circumstances. The environment is calming, the nurse and physician explain the procedure in detail, and take a great deal of time to ensure the comfort of our patient. Additionally, we always use an extremely thin, specially ordered needle.
