The Changing Landscape
Much like the design of a GPS navigation system, MS patients and their physicians can employ the S.E.A.R.C.H.SM model to navigate through this dynamic, everchanging landscape to reach their desired destination.
The first treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993. This forever changed the landscape of how MS could be managed. The approval of Betaseron® (interferon beta-1b) for RRMS ushered in a remarkable surge of MS treatments designed to reduce the number and severity of exacerbations and help lessen disease progression. Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, several effective medications for MS have become available, giving neurologists and patients a variety of treatment options for slowing disease activity.
Along with these treatments, known as disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), came the expanded use and improved technology of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Through diagnostic and follow-up MRI scans of the brain and spinal cord, physicians could now better diagnose, treat, track and manage the ever-changing course of MS in a more definitive and proactive manner.
As the recommendation and usage of MRIs grew, MSAA recognized the need to assist MS patients who required these valuable tests but lacked insurance coverage or the financial means to pay for the exams. As a result, MSAA developed and implemented the MRI Diagnostic Fund and MRI Institute programs. To date, these two programs have combined to serve nearly 5,000 MS clients who have benefited from an initial or follow-up MRI exam. For more details on these two programs, please visit MSAA's website, www.msassociation.org, or call (800) 532-7667, extension 120.
Advances in MRI techniques, along with years of consistent research data, have demonstrated that most patients who begin and maintain a DMT will experience fewer active lesions on the brain and spinal cord, fewer and less severe exacerbations, a reduction in symptoms, and a delay in disease progression and disability. In addition, more recent clinical trials have found that many of these DMTs also delay time to a second MS-like event, in cases of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). CIS refers to the first presenting symptom of MS, prior to a confirmed diagnosis.
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Disclaimer: 'MS Views and News' (MSVN), does not endorse any products or services found on this blog. It is up to you to seek advice from your healthcare provider. The intent of this blog is to provide information on various medical conditions, medications, treatments, and procedures for your personal knowledge and to keep you informed of current health-related issues. It is not intended to be complete or exhaustive, nor is it a substitute for the advice of your physician. Should you or your family members have any specific medical problem, seek medical care promptly.
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