Multiple Sclerosis: New Treatment Options

Multiple sclerosis is a serious, chronic, unpredictable and physically disabling disease. In addition, its evolution can vary from relatively mild to severe in different degrees. That is why it is so important to study multiple sclerosis and its new treatments.

In this disease, there is an alteration or lack of regulation of the immune system and affects the central nervous system (CNS). In other words, it triggers a destruction of cells by the body itself and affects the brain’s connections with the rest of the body.

What is multiple sclerosis?

Etymologically, multiple sclerosis means ‘multiple hardening or scarring’. This means that there is a hardening, inflammation and subsequent destruction of essential parts of our cells. In addition, the most affected are the different areas of our brain.

In the brain there is an area known as the white matter. This, in turn, is made up of neuron fibers wrapped in myelin. Neurons are brain cells and the function of myelin is to allow the transmission of brain information.

As a result, the inflammation of the white matter and the destruction of myelin is summarized in a slowing down or inability to transmit electrochemical messages between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body.

Mainly, multiple sclerosis symptoms appear between the ages of 20 and 40. However, the diagnosis is late as there is no specific test for it.

There are risk factors for the development of the disease such as the following:

• White race.
• Women.
• Temperate climates, etc.

Multiple sclerosis and its new treatments

The goals of treating multiple sclerosis are largely due to slowing the progress of the disease and helping to manage its symptoms. We can summarize the purpose of the treatment in the following points:

• Slow down brain involvement.
• Slow down the disability it produces.
• Reduce the number of sprouts.
• Improve brain-body connections.
• Decrease pain.
• Give support and psychological help.
• Improve the quality of life.

Before looking at new treatments, it is necessary to know what basic options are used to improve this disabling disease that affects a large number of people in the world.

Fortunately, although sometimes it is not useful to make the disease disappear, there are different forms of treatment for multiple sclerosis such as:

Symptomatic treatment

It aims to improve the quality of life, as well as reduce the symptoms of illness and disability. There are different symptomatic ways to treat multiple sclerosis, such as the following:

• Passive rehabilitation: performed by professional physiotherapists.
• Active rehabilitation : carried out by the person himself.
• Injection therapies : to improve the specific muscles that may be affected.

• Pharmacological treatment : use, for example, of corticosteroids that reduce inflammation.
• Orthopedic surgery: to improve the alignment of tendons, bones and muscles that have lost mobility.
• Brain surgeries : to make modifications to inflamed or hardened nerve fibers.

Acute treatment

At the time when an outbreak occurs and the person is more affected, a more comprehensive and intense symptomatic treatment is used  in a relatively short period of time.

New treatment options

Used preventively, disease modulating therapy is used to prevent further injury or disease progression.

This therapy is based on immunosuppression or immunomodulatory drugs. Thus, the immune response is controlled and allows cells not to become inflamed and / or destroy autonomously. In other words, it stops the error that makes the defenses identify the own parts of our body as strange.

The objectives of these therapies are, mainly, to control inflammation and the appearance of flare-ups in the short term. It boils down to slowing down the progression of disability caused by long-term disease.

Examples of these medications are as follows:

• First options: interferon beta and copaxone.
• Second line of treatment: natalizumab and fingolimod.

Multiple sclerosis and its new treatments

Unfortunately, sometimes, the use of treatments in multiple sclerosis is not very effective. This is mainly due to the late diagnosis of this disease.

For this reason, it is very important that before any symptoms of disability, a health professional is consulted to rule out this pathology as soon as possible. In the case of not being ruled out, this allows to prevent its evolution in time with these new forms of treatment.