Dr. Hendin describes how multiple sclerosis (MS) is commonly treated and recalls the specialist a woman should see.
Dr. Hendin:
There are multiple approved therapies for multiple sclerosis at the present time. We have therapies that we call the platform therapies; those are therapies, which include Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone®, Rebif®, Extavia®. They’re injections given as infrequently as once a week or as frequently as every day. The purpose of those medicines is to reduce the likelihood of another attack and to reduce the likelihood of disability.
The additional agents include one called Tysabri. Tysabri is an infusion, which we think is more powerful. It has some additional risks. We are waiting for a number of new agents on the horizon, which will be able to increase our options in treating patients with MS.
The physician group that is most identified as diagnoser or treater of MS is the neurologist, and some neurologists take special interest in MS and that means that they either exclusively treat MS or they treat MS as the predominating patient population that they see. But sometimes it takes a village to raise a child; sometimes it takes a village to treat a patient with MS and so we’ll find ourselves taking advantage of neuro-ophthalmologists, neuro-urologists, neuro-rehabilitation specialists to deal with the special problems of MS.
About Dr. Barry Hendin, M.D.:
Dr. Hendin is a graduate of the Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his neurology residency at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology where he has served as an examiner for the Board for more than 30 years. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology where he had been honored as a fellow.
Visit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Visit Dr. Hendin at Phoenix Neurology Associates
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