Multiple Sclerosis

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For any patient, being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis is both stressful and terrifying. The lack of a cure leads to much of this emotional distress. It’s important for doctors, as well as patients and family members accompanying their loved one to appointments, to consider the many treatment plans that slow the progression of the disease and what  treatments can ease some of the symptoms.

It is important for doctors, patients, and loved ones in a supportive role to consider newer, drug-free methods against traditional medications and surgical treatments. Stem cells are gaining steam and proving to be incredibly useful tools in the battle against neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis that have no cure.

The medical world has discovered more than 600 kinds of neurological diseases. With all of them, the impact is on key components of the nervous system, including the brain, nerves, and spinal cord. When the nervous system fails, organ health is impacted. Without proper messages between the brain and other organs, breathing difficulties may occur, the heart may not function properly, and movements become challenging.

When it comes to classifying neurological diseases, there are diseases where the nervous system is damaged in some way as an example, brain damage during a car accident. There are also degenerative diseases where some outside influence leads to the nerve cells wasting away. Examples of degenerative neurological diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), and Parkinson’s disease.

Some neurological diseases and conditions are triggered by outside influences. bacterial or viral infections, environmental toxins, genetic disorders, and lifestyle. In terms of lifestyle, alcoholism and malnutrition are examples where a person’s lifestyle impacts the health of the nervous system. There are also situations where another disease or condition triggers a neurological condition or disease, including a stroke.

The main objective of the catheterization approach is so that the cells are directly delivered to the problem area. Using the IV infusion approach cells are naturally filtered through the lungs and it is a normal function of human physiology for a percentage of the cells to become trapped in the lung area.

Radial Artery approach- may also be used for cannulation; this approach offers several advantages, including the accessibility of the artery in most patients, the easy control of bleeding even in anticoagulated patients, the enhancement of comfort because patients are capable of sitting up and walking immediately following the procedure, and the near absence of clinically significant sequelae in patients with a normal Allen Test.

Because MS has no cure, focus becomes on treating the problematic symptoms. Traditionally, a course of prescription medications is used to alleviate the symptoms, but the medications do not prevent symptoms from recurring.

With the medications used to treat symptoms of MS, many have side effects that are often worse than the actual symptom. These side effects range from nausea and flu-like symptoms to bladder infections, chest pain, and liver damage.

Deep Brain Stimulation is another treatment used by medical professionals. With this treatment, electrodes are implanted in the brain during a surgical procedure. Computers map the brain to pinpoint the nerves that are causing problems and then pulses of energy stimulate that area to help control symptoms like pain and physical tremors. Some side effects include allergic reaction, brain hemorrhage, mild paralysis, and pain and swelling at the implantation site. As a result, many patients prefer drug-free treatments.