Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease. It causes the immune system to react abnormally, attacking the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve. There are a number of treatment options that can help reduce symptoms of MS, including medications and stem cell therapy.
Different people may experience a variety of different symptoms of MS. They may also experience symptoms that vary in severity. Some people may have mild symptoms that are easily manageable, while others may have severe symptoms that can cause serious problems.
A person may also experience an MS relapse, which is sometimes known as an attack or flare-up. A relapse is the occurrence of new MS symptoms or the worsening of symptoms.
There is no cure for MS. However, there are a variety of treatment options.
Treatment for MS has changed over the years. Medical professionals and scientists are continuing to develop new treatments to help ease a person’s symptoms and reduce the progress of the disease.
In this article, we outline the different treatment options available to a person with MS.
Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are a series of medications that a person can take to
Doctors may recommend that a person begins using DMTs during the early stages of MS. This is because these drugs can slow the progression of the disease, particularly if a person uses them when symptoms are not yet severe.
Some of these medications are available to take orally, some via injection, and some as part of an infusion.
Safety
Medical professionals consider DMTs safe to use. The medications have well-established records of safety thanks to numerous clinical observations and long-term extension studies.
Side effects vary from drug to drug. Common side effects of injectable DMTs include reactions at the site of injection and flu-like symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, muscle pain, and chills.
Other less common side effects include headaches, the worsening of muscle spasms, liver problems, and depression.
Oral DMTs
Common side effects of oral DMTs include headaches, hair loss, diarrhea, nausea, and abnormal liver tests.
More serious and rare side effects of oral DMTs include liver problems, decreases in white blood cell count, and a vision problem called macular edema that can cause the same symptoms as an MS vision attack.
Infusion DMTs
Common side effects of infusion DMTs include nausea, hair loss, upper respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, and rashes.
Less common side effects include an increased risk of infections, a weakened immune system, and infusion reactions that can be life-threatening.
Effectiveness
DMTs cannot cure MS, but they are an effective treatment to help prevent relapses and ease the symptoms of the disease.
One
It added that the injectable therapies are expected to protect against 20–35% of relapses, oral therapies are expected to protect against 50–55% of relapses, and infusion therapies are expected to protect against over 60% of relapses.
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Quality of life
MS can have a large impact on a person’s quality of life. One
In one
The study found that people’s treatment preferences were affected by a number of factors, with a positive self-image being crucial. The results showed that the efficacy of their selected DMT was important, but people were also influenced by their well-being and how the treatment burden might impact their role.
The study showed that people preferred oral DMTs. As long as these drugs did not cause side effects, they managed to enable a person to feel less pathologized, which meant they felt less like a patient and more like a parent, lover, or skilled professional, for example.
The study said DMT’s successful symptom management enables people with MS to reconnect with their former roles and activities. This allows them to preserve a “crucial sense of their pre-MS self and identity.”
Stem cells are immature cells in the human body that can mature into other specific cells. They play an important role in growth and help the body repair itself. They do this by replacing cells that a person loses through wear and tear, injury, or disease.
Stem cells can also
Medical professionals can use stem cells to treat certain medical conditions. They can inject a person with healthy stem cells during stem cell therapy to replace damaged or abnormal cells in their body.
Before this procedure, the doctor will destroy the dysfunctional immune system that causes MS symptoms using certain cytotoxic drugs. They then give the person stem cells to help replace their old immune system cells with new, functional immune cells.
Safety
One
Effectiveness
The same
A 2017 review states that stem cell transplants can stop MS disease activity for 4–5 years in
Quality of life
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When a person has an MS relapse, they may experience a worsening of symptoms. During severe relapses, a person may experience a number of symptoms, including loss of vision, severe weakness, or poor balance.
These types of relapses can interfere with a person’s mobility, safety, and ability to function. This means that doctors will often treat these relapses with corticosteroids.
These drugs reduce inflammation, which can speed up the end of the relapse. A person will usually take a 3- or 5-day course of intravenous or oral corticosteroids.
Corticosteroids are an effective treatment for relapses, but doctors do not believe they have any long-term benefit to treating MS itself.
Safety
Long-term use of corticosteroids can cause a number of side effects, including:
- acne
- weight gain
- bruising more easily
- mood disorders, such as depression
- high blood pressure
- diabetes
- osteoporosis
- cataracts
- glaucoma
- liver damage
This is why corticosteroids are only used as a short-term treatment for MS relapses. Medical professionals generally consider short-term use as safe.
Short-term use of corticosteroids in treating MS can still lead to some side effects. These include:
- headaches
- irritated stomach
- restlessness
- vomiting
- dizziness
- acne
- increased hair growth
- trouble sleeping
- bruising more easily
- irregular or absent menstrual periods
Effectiveness
Medical professionals consider intravenous corticosteroids an effective treatment for MS relapses. However, one
The review also stated that there was no difference between how well people tolerated oral and intravenous corticosteroids.
Quality of life
By helping reduce the length of MS relapses, corticosteroids can help improve the quality of life for people with MS.
However, more research is required to determine to what extent these medications can help improve quality of life.
The following treatment options are available for people with MS experiencing specific symptoms of the condition:
| Symptom | Treatment options |
|---|---|
| Fatigue | medicines such as amantadine exercise establishing healthy sleep patterns avoiding drugs that can worsen fatigue, such as some painkillers |
| Visual problems | may go away alone within a few weeks steroids can help severe symptoms gabapentin can treat involuntary eye movements |
| Muscle spasms or stiffness | physiotherapy a muscle relaxant, such as baclofen or gabapentin an alternative medicine, such as tizanidine or diazepam cannabis-based medicines |
| Mobility issues | physiotherapy medicine for shaking or dizziness mobility aids, such as a walking stick or chair changes in the home, such as a stairlift |
| Nerve pain | medicines such as gabapentin or carbamazepine |
| Muscle and joint pain | physiotherapy painkillers a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machine, which can stimulate the nerves |
| Difficulty remembering, thinking, or learning | referral to a clinical psychologist |
| Emotional difficulty | referral to a clinical psychologist antidepressants therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) |
| Sexual difficulty | sildenafil (Viagra) can help males maintain or achieve an erection referral to a sex therapist |
| Bladder issues | handheld external stimulators can help people begin to urinate a continence nurse or physiotherapist can help with difficulty emptying the bladder botulinim toxin injections bladder exercises electrical treatment |
| Bowel issues | laxatives or suppositories can help a person manage constipation anti-diarrhea medicine or pelvic floor exercises can help treat bowel incontinence |
| Speech or swallowing issues | referral to a speech and language therapist |
It is important that a person with MS knows what treatment options are available to them.
A person may also wish to ask about how effective each treatment option is and what side effects are associated with each treatment.
A person should also ask their doctor how long the treatment will be, and what the treatment will involve.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the central nervous system.
This can cause a number of symptoms including weakness, problems walking, stiffness and muscle spasms, blurred vision, vertigo, and dizziness.
There are a number of treatment options that can help reduce symptoms of MS, including medications and stem cell therapy.
If a person experiences a worsening of symptoms, this is called a relapse. A person can treat relapses with short-term doses of corticosteroids.
It is important that a person with MS is aware of the treatment options available to them.