There are very few Multiple Sclerosis therapies that exist today. These MS therapies are usually dictated by the few medicines that can help slow down the progression of the disease. Currently, most of these FDA approved medications must be given via injection, with the exception of fingolimod, which is an oral medication. Interferon beta, fingolimod, glatiramer, natalizumab, and mitoxantrone have proven to modify the disease. The good news is that a new Multiple Sclerosis medicine is being studied at the moment, and that this medication has high hopes of receiving FDA approval by the end of 2012. This drug is also administered orally, just like fingolimod. MS patients enjoy having the option to take disease-modifying meds orally instead of via injection. This new medication hopes to achieve not only an increase in patient comfort, but also a decrease in side effects experienced by MS patients around the world.
Fingolimod has shown a lot of promise during a monitored research study that took place over a period of 3 years. The group taking fingolimod during the course of the study were relapse free. This immunity-suppressing medication is one of the top MS medications working to change the lives of people with Multiple Sclerosis. Very few side effects were experienced with this particular MS drug and those that were present were extremely tolerable. Some side effects MS patients reported included fatigue, headaches, and head colds, each of which are more tolerable than the pain associated with many MS symptoms that could manifest without proper medication.
New MS Therapies
Treatment for CCSVI is another possibility for MS patients. This condition manifests when the main veins in the central nervous system become deformed, narrowed, or blocked in any way. Currently, few places offer treatment for CCSVI, but a nonprofit MS organization called the CCSVI Foundation is working to change all that. The group not only aids patients in getting an accurate diagnosis for CCSVI, but it also helps them seek treatment for it.
It is not 100 percent proven that there is a link between CCSVI and MS, however, some Multiple Sclerosis therapies studied today have to do with procedures meant to treat CCSVI and improve the blood flow from the brain to the heart. There are two common MS therapies which can help treat this issue, and they involve either inflating a balloon inside the affected vein or veins, or alternatively, inserting a stent in narrow or deformed veins. Research being done by scientists today seems to be getting closer at proving there is a link between CCSVI and MS.
Related articles: Preventing Multiple Sclerosis | Multiple Sclerosis Caregivers | Healing Multiple Sclerosis | Stem Cell Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis | Control MLS |
