‘Historic view’ of treating multiple sclerosis must change, MS Society

A “wait and see” culture in the NHS over the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) is damaging patient care, a charity has warned.

The MS Society said a “paradigm shift” has occurred in understanding the disease, which had shown that treating it early is vital for people with relapsing forms of the condition.

But the “historic view” held by many experts is that relapsing remitting MS only causes damage to the nervous system during relapses.

A paper from the charity shows that MS can be continually destructive from its earliest stages and there is a need to preserve brain and spinal cord tissue.

It suggests remission no longer exists in the way it has been previously understood.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of the MS Society, said: “In the UK, the most common treatment option for MS in its early stages is currently no treatment and this needs to change for the sake of tens of thousands of people’s health.

“Relapsing remitting MS has been redefined – we now know the clock never stops with this disease and neither should our fight against it.

“We hope neurologists and healthcare professionals will heed the advice of the MS community and end this ‘wait and see’ culture.”

Neurologist Professor Gavin Giovannoni said: “Our understanding of MS is changing rapidly and our treatment of it should be keeping up. We now know that time equals brain, and we must act urgently.

“The goal of treating MS should be to preserve brain tissue and maximise long-term brain health by reducing disease activity. The most effective way to do this is to begin treating as soon as possible.”

An estimated 100 people a week in the UK are diagnosed with MS. It affects more than 100,000 people in the UK.

According to the MS Society, the UK ranks 25th out of 27 European countries on the proportion of people with MS who receive key treatments.

Only Poland and Romania perform worse.

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