MS Active Source

Treatment

• Introduction
• Introduction to MS
• MS treatments
  • Intro to MS treatments
  • Interferons
  • Avonex
  • Betaferon
  • Rebif
  • Glatiramer acetate
  • Copaxone
  • Natalizumab
  • Tysabri
  • Treatment of relapses
  • Risk-sharing scheme
  • Progressive MS
• Positive approach
• Newly diagnosed?
• Relative with MS
• Links
• Principles of treatment

Understanding Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common disabling conditions of the central nervous system (CNS), affecting young adults. This section of MS Active Source gives you a general overview of MS, including information on the disease, its diagnosis, treatment options and the help that healthcare professionals can provide both for people with MS and for family members. Please select a section from the index (left).

A Pathway Through MS: Understanding and Treating your MS

This is a video programme that has been produced to help people with MS understand their condition and the treatments available. The programme contains several sections that can be found on some pages of this website. The section on this page provides a description of MS and how it affects the body. Dr Eli Silber, a consultant neurologist who specialises in the treatment of MS, explains how the condition is diagnosed. This section of the programme also includes the stories of two people who have MS.

Points covered in this section of the video:

• MS, or multiple sclerosis, is a disorder of the CNS (brain and spinal cord).
• In MS, the immune system attacks the CNS, causing inflammation.
• It is the inflammation that damages the nerve's myelin sheath in a process called demyelination.
• Myelin is replaced by scars of sclerotic (hardened) tissue.
• Transmission of messages through the CNS is disrupted.
• There are several forms of MS.
• Around 80% of MS patients experience the relapsing-remitting form first.
• Those with relapsing-remitting MS or secondary progressive MS with relapses are suitable for treatment with a disease-modifying treatment.
• MRI scans play an important role in the diagnosis of MS.

Quick Links

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