Original article: https://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/ms-treatment#1
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is incurable, but there are various medications that are used in the management of its symptoms. You and your doctor can pinpoint the ideal treatment approach for your case that comes with the fewest or mildest adverse side effects.
Disease-Modifying Medications
Treatment options usually depend on the type of MS you have, but if you have the type known as relapsing-remitting MS and it is getting unruly, you may initially get a prescription for a disease-modifying medication. These drugs impede the progression of MS as well as circumvent relapses by inhibiting the mistaken action of your immune system that causes it to strike myelin–the substance that creates a protective shell around the nerves.
Some common disease-modifying medicines that effectively lessen the frequency of attacks are Betaseron, Copaxone, and Extavia. There are also some drugs that can both reduce the frequency of relapses and slow down the progression of the disease such as Avonex, Gilenya, Novantrone, Zinbryta, and Tysabri.
Drugs like Avonex and Copaxone are deemed highly safe, and their only side effects include the ones that occur because of the injection such as redness and itching at the injection site. Interferon medications like Avonex can cause symptoms akin to the flu, including body pain, tiredness, and fever. However, these side effects typically disappear in 2-3 months.
In order to go on Gilenya, you are required to get a chickenpox vaccination if you have not already had it or been vaccinated. Gilenya side effects are backaches, headaches, diarrhea, coughing, and irregularities in liver tests. As this medication can also result in a decreased heart rate, it requires close monitoring by your doctor. Moreover, some people on Gilenya have developed a rare neurological infection known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). In cases where no other disease-modifying drugs prove effective, your doctor may recommend Tysabri, which stops immune nerve cells from reaching to the central nervous system where they can harm nerves. Tysabri has also been associated with cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), which is why your doctor may only consider this medicine as a last resort.
Addressing Relapses
The primary purpose of your MS drugs is flare-up prevention, but these drugs may not always completely eliminate the occurrence of attacks, impacting your ability to complete daily tasks. If you do experience a flare-up so severe that it begins to impact your everyday life, your physician may see it fit to put you on oral or intravenous steroids with a high dosage to alleviate the attack more speedily. However, steroids are not like disease-modifying medications in that they do not impede the progression of MS.
If steroids prove ineffective as well, which is rare but happens with severe flare-ups, you may need to undergo a procedure known as plasma exchange. Plasma (the liquid part of the blood) exchange involves the removal of some your blood, isolating the plasma from the blood cells, and then transfusing it back into your body with the replaced plasma.
Treating Other MS Symptoms
To address muscle spasms and tension, you may be prescribed a muscle relaxant such as Lioresal or a sedative like Valium. If you experience fatigue, your doctor may recommend the use of Symmetrel or Nuvigil. Finally, to treat depression, you may be prescribed antidepressants such as Zoloft or Prozac.
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Posted on March 24, 2023