New MS Center- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
New MS Center- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
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June 9, 2000
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In This Issue:
New MS Center
First Annual Thomson Lecture
It pays to take the T
Thomson Compassionate Care Scholars
Pike Notes
Neuroscience Conference
ASK YOURSELF:
Martin Leber, MD, Retires from SJPHC
”Right now, my whole body feels like a tuning fork,” said Susan Graham, an artist from New Hampshire and a patient at the new BWH/MGH Multiple Sclerosis Center. Outwardly, though, she seemed fine, and if she had not mentioned this feeling—one of many symptoms possible during an exacerbation, or “flare-up”—no one would have known she was experiencing it. Graham was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) nine years ago, a central nervous system disease that misdirects the immune system to attack the coating of nerve cells. This coating is essential to the extremely rapid transmission of nerve signals that occurs in healthy people, and MS disrupts those signals, causing a variety of symptoms—including weakness and problems with coordination, sensations, and vision—that range from mild to severe. When Graham first came to see Howard Weiner, MD, BWH Neurology, she was experiencing a severe flare up that caused her to have trouble walking. “We first tried steriods and some of the drugs known to help with MS attacks,” said Graham. “But this particular attack was stronger than those drugs, so we ultimately decided to use chemotherapy. The chemo saved me and kept me out of a wheelchair.” “MS is like a boxer hitting the patient over many different rounds,” said Weiner. “In some rounds, the boxer punches like a child, and MS drugs developed within the last five serve as effective shields and have revolutionized MS treatment. But in other rounds, the MS boxer is like Muhammad Ali and we need to use our most powerful treatment, chemotherapy.” Weiner and his group described chemotherapy as a strong shield against severe MS attacks for the first time in 1983, and a new chemotherapy drug for MS is now being approved by the FDA. He is the director of the new MS center, which combines the MS practices of BWH and MGH to offer comprehensive care for patients, including physical and occupational therapy to manage the effects of an exacerbation, an infusion facility to deliver drug therapy, and a patient education center. In addition, there is a clinical immunology laboratory to perform new blood tests for MS. One of the major advances in MS has been MRI, and an MRI machine and imaging center dedicated to MS and located one block from the center will be operational this fall. Magnetic resonance images of the central nervous system are taken about every six to 12 months to monitor disease progression. The BWH/MGH center is the only center in the country that offers comprehensive clinical care with its own immunology lab, MRI magnet, and clinical trials. “This is a new era in the treatment of MS, with new drugs, new combinations, and new approaches being tested all the time,” says Weiner. “In addition to developing the next generation of MS drugs, we [at the MS Center] are about to embark on a study that follows 1,000 patients over the course of 10 to 20 years to learn more about how the disease progresses.” Such innovations, he hopes, will lead to more breakthrough discoveries on how to treat this often-debilitating disease, and will assist millions of patients like Graham with living their lives as fully as possible.