Medical Treatment
Specific treatment for multiple sclerosis will be determined by your physician based on:
- your age, overall health, and medical history
- extent of the disease
- your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
- expectations for the course of the disease
- your opinion or preference
Treatments are available that address both the causes of multiple sclerosis and the symptoms.
Treating the Cause of Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is considered an auto-immune disease, meaning that your immune system mistakenly attacks your own cells. Therefore, all of the medications used to directly treat multiple sclerosis work by interacting with the immune system.
Although proven to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis, each of these drugs has serious side effects. Your doctor will help you determine if the benefits outweigh the risks in your particular situation.
Interferons
Beta-interferons have been used to treat multiple sclerosis for many years, and although they reduce the intensity of attacks and increase amount of healthy time between attacks, researchers still aren't sure exactly how they work. What is known is that beta-interferons change the activity of many proteins that are part of the immune system.
The three beta-interferons approved for the treatment of multiples sclerosis are Avonex, Betaseron, and Rebif. Although all three are interferons, they are all slightly different. For example, although each drug is given by injection, two drugs are injected under the skin and the other is injected into muscles.
Avonex
Betaseron
Rebif
Injection type
Intramuscular
Subcutaneous
Frequency given
1x/week
Every other day
3x/week
Type of multiple sclerosis
Relapsing (including those who have MRI indications of disease after a first episode)
If your doctor thinks beta-interferons are a good option for you, he or she will work with you to find the best specific drug for your situation.
Copaxone
Copaxone modifies the immune system by presenting it with a portion of the myelin protein. Myelin makes up the protective sheath around neurons, and in multiple sclerosis is attached by the immune system. Copaxone is thought to reduce the inflammation that damages the myelin.
Copaxone is injected subcutaneously once a day, and is approved for treating patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.
Novantrone
Novantrone is the newest drug available to treat multiple sclerosis, and was used to treat cancer before being tried for this disease. Doctors think that in multiple sclerosis Novantrone works by suppressing the immune system cells that are responsible for the attacks on myelin.
Novantrone is the only drug approved for treating secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis, a form of the disease where symptoms gradually get worse between relapses (instead of returning to the same baseline level after each relapse). It is also approved to treat progressive-relapsing multiple sclerosis and worsening relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
Novantrone is given as an intravenous infusion once every three months.
Treating the Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
Symptoms of multiple sclerosis include:
- fatigue
- incontinence
- constipation
- spasticity
- weakness
- numbness
- incoordination
- vision problems
- tremors
- pain
Medications are available to treat each of the symptoms individually, and can greatly improve your quality of life.
In addition, steroids can reduce inflammation, and are sometimes used to reduce the severity and frequency of multiple sclerosis attacks. Nevertheless, they have not been shown to slow the progression of the disease over time.
Because our doctors have significant experience managing multiple sclerosis patients, they can help you avoid possible drug interactions that can arise when taking medications to treat different symptoms.