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Questions posted in the
Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
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Subject: Re: MS Treatment : My wife has been diagnosed with MS. We have been learning and seeking treatment for the past two years. This summer was the worst. She had three exaserbations within five months. Her doctor recommends daily injections of Beta-Ceron (spelling?). She is very apprehensive about the injections. What are our alternatives? Her doctor (a Military Neurologinst) has lilttle experience with anything other than Bera-Ceron. I've heard about Avonex and Copolymer and Bee sting... What is the best treatment? and where can we go to learn about it? We've contacted the local chapter of the National MS Society. They seem most interested in what we can do for them. I understand that each case is different, but is there one "best treatment?" What's on the horizon? Where does MS treatment go from here?
Dear Jim, Hello, Well it sounds like you have been doing your homework. The "best" therapy for your wife depends on the type of MS that she has such as relapsing remitting or progressive and the confirmation of her diagnosis by a Brain MRI and or Spinal tap. Other tests may be needed depending on the history and her exam as this is a clinicla diagnosis so the doctors make the diagnosis by the exam and her symptoms and excluding other potential causes. It sounds like she has the relapsing kind of MS and the "best" therapy right now is Avonex in that it is a weekly injection into a muscle, it has been shown to decrease MRI lesions, decrease new relpases and decrease eventual disability. The Copaxone is very new, approved by the FDA for only a few months. The MRI data is pending on this so when this is out I'll be able to comment on its' comparability to Avonex. The Copaxone isa daily injection and the Betaseron is every other day. The betaseron is very similar to the Avonex but it has more side effects and now it is known to cause more antibodies which stop the effectiveness of the medicine so Avonex is a better choice. So I hope that this is helpful, there are Neurologists that specialize in MS and we have a MS center here at the CCF called the Mellen Center 216-444-8600. The number to the company that makes Avonex is Biogen 800-456-2255. Biogen will send you a video of how you give the injection and an information packet for you. Good Luck! |
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