Multiple Sclerosis (questions And Answers For Patients And Loved Ones)

By (author) Howard Jonathan
Short description/annotation
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, this book should be your first stop. Written in easy-to-understand language by an MS specialist, this guide covers the questions that patients and their families typically ask - from disease basics, to treatment options, managing relapses, and lifestyle concerns.
Description
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, this book should be your first stop. Written in easy-to-understand language by an MS specialist, this guide covers the questions that patients and their families typically ask—from disease basics, to treatment options, managing relapses, and lifestyle concerns, including diet and working.

Whether newly diagnosed or coping with the unpredictable day-to-day, this valuable reference will arm you with the latest information. Designed to be a thorough, yet concise summary of all aspects of MS, the book simplifies complex medical topics and is based on the latest science. For patients at any stage and the people who support them, Multiple Sclerosis: Questions and Answers for Patients and Loved Ones provides the answers you need to understand this disease, its potential impact on your life, and the medical treatments now available for managing it successfully.

Key Features:

• Complete guide with straightforward answers to the most frequently asked questions by MS patients
• Up-to-date information on treatment options, including the benefits and drawbacks of new MS medications and who should be taking them
• Addresses special topics, such as pregnancy in combination with MS treatments and working after diagnosis
• Presents an overview of symptoms with tips on how to combat them
• Offers useful advice about symptom management and lifestyle changes to meet the physical and emotional challenges MS brings

Table of contents

• An Introduction to MS
• 1. What Are The Worst Symptoms for Newly Diagnosed Patients?
• 2. What is Multiple Sclerosis?
• 3. Neuroscience Basics
• 4. What Happens in MS?
• 5. What Causes MS?
• 6. What is a Relapse?
• 7. What Are the Initial Symptoms of MS?
• 8. How is MS Diagnosed?
• 9. Do I Need A Lumbar Puncture?
• 10. What Should I Expect With A Lumbar Puncture?
• 11. What are the Stages and Different Types of MS?
• 12. How Can I Tell if I am in the Secondary-Progressive Phase?
• 13. What is the Prognosis of MS?
• 14. What is the Life Expectancy for People With MS?
• 15. Will I Wake up One Day and Not Be Able to Walk?
• 16. Do Relapses Matter?
• 17. What About Pediatric MS?
• The MRI and MS
• 1. What is an MRI and What Does it Show in MS?
• 2. How Are MRIs Used to Diagnose MS?
• 3. How Do MRIs Help With Relapses?
• 4. How Do MRIs Help With Disease Surveillance?
• 5. Do All White Spots Mean MS?
• Treating MS Part I: Relapses
• 1. How Are Relapses Treated?
• 2. What are the Side Effects of Steroids?
• 3. Are There Options Besides Steroids for Relapses? What is ACTHAR? What is Plasmapheresis?
• Treating MS Part II: Disease-Modifying Therapies
• 1. An Introduction to the Disease-Modifying Therapies.
• 2. How Do We Evaluate the Medications in MS?
• 3. What is the EDSS?
• 4. Why is MS a Hard Disease to Study?
• 5. Why Should I Take a Medication if I Feel Fine?
• 6. Which Medicine Should I Start Taking? The Injectable Medications.
• 7. What are Monoclonal Antibodies?
• 8. What is Tysabri (natalizumab)?
• 9. What are the Risk Factors for PML in Patients on Tysabri?
• 10. How is PML Diagnosed?
• 11. Can PML be Treated?
• 12. What is Lemtrada (alemtuzumab)?
• 13. What is Ocrevus (ocrelizumab)?
• 14. W