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ISSUE NO. 1 // JAN 2017
MS
ACPN Multiple
Sclerosis Unit
The American Centre for Psychiatry
and Neurology is pleased to
announce the launch of the Multiple
Sclerosis Unit!
After a lot of hard work from all the staff at the American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, we are very
pleased to have officially begun the Multiple Sclerosis Program. The literature suggest that people with
Multiple Sclerosis ( MS) make greater improvements while under the care of experienced clinicians within
a specialized Multiple Sclerosis service. The American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology is the first of
its kind in the UAE to offer a specialized, coordinated multidisciplinary management of MS, with patients
able to access a range of services and treatments tailored specifically to their individual needs. This
includes Specialist Neurologists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language
Therapists, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Nurses and Pharmacists - all with experience in the management
of Multiple Sclerosis.
It is an exciting time at the American Center and we look forward to welcoming more patients to our unit.
Multiple Sclerosis
Unit Launch
The launch of the Multiple
Sclerosis Unit went off with a
bang at the Beach Rotana in
Abu Dhabi!
ACPN kicked off the launch of the MS Unit with
an educational symposium on the 28th October
2016, held at Beach Rotana - Abu Dhabi. The
seminar was attended by over 160 high profile
doctors and medical experts.
The half day symposium consisted of numerous
presentations from leading clinicians including
our very own Consultant Neurologist, Dr Taoufik
Al Saadi, and Professor Peter Rieckmann –
Research Chair of the Canadian Multiple
Sclerosis Society, who flew in especially for the
event.
The symposium was a great success and well
received by all attendees. We thoroughly enjoyed
meeting colleagues from other healthcare centers
in the Emirate and answering their questions
about the management of Multiple Sclerosis.
ASK THE EXPERT
Each month, we put your questions
to one of ACPN’s resident Multiple
Sclerosis Experts
Dr Taoufik Al Saadi is a Consultant Neurologist and Chief Medical
Officer at the American Center for
Psychiatry and Neurology. He is
American board certified and has
extensive experience in both the
USA and the UAE, previously
working as the Head of Neurology
at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City. As
well as being honored with many
prestigious awards in the field of
Neurology, he has also co-authored
numerous articles and book
chapters to advance research and
knowledge in Multiple Sclerosis.
This month, we asked Dr Taoufik to
answer your questions on what
Multiple Sclerosis is and what
causes it…
IN THE NEWS
approximately 15 percent. This has
led to general recognition of optic
neuritis as an early sign of MS.
Most MS patients experience
muscle weakness in their extremities and difficulty with coordination
and balance at some time during
the course of the disease. These
symptoms may be severe enough to
impair walking or even standing.
In the worst cases, MS can produce
partial or complete paralysis. Most
people with MS also exhibit paresthesias, transitory abnormal sensory feelings such as, numbness,
prickling, or "pins and needles"
sensations; uncommonly, some
may also experience pain. Loss of
sensation
sometimes
occurs.
Speech impediments, tremors, and
dizziness are other frequent
complaints.
My mom has Multiple Sclerosis,
does this mean I will get it too?
Family history of MS is one of the
strongest overall risk factors for
the disease. Siblings have a 30- to
50-fold increase in risk and first-degree relatives have a 7-fold
increase in risk compared with the
general population. This strongly
suggests that genetics, at least in
part, contributes to MS causality
Briefly, what is Multiple Sclerosis
and what are the main symptoms?
MS is a chronic progressive and
inflammatory neurodegenerative
disease that affects the central
nervous system. There are 3 pathological components associated with
this disease including inflammation, demyelination, and axonal
loss. During an MS attack, inflammation occurs in areas of the white
matter of the central nervous
system in random patches called
plaques. This process is followed by
destruction of myelin, the fatty
covering that insulates nerve cell
fibers in the brain and spinal cord.
Myelin facilitates the smooth,
high-speed transmission of electrochemical messages between the
brain, the spinal cord, and the rest
of the body; when it is damaged,
neurological
transmission
of
messages may be slowed or blocked
completely, leading to diminished
or lost function. It is worth mentioning here that recent data suggest
that axonal loss occurs very early
in the course of the disease.
Symptoms of MS may be mild or
severe, of long duration or short,
and may appear in various combinations, depending on the area of the
nervous system affected. Complete
or partial remission of symptoms,
especially in the early stages of the
disease, occurs in approximately 70
percent of MS patients.
The initial symptom of MS is often
blurred or double vision, red-green
color distortion, or even blindness
in one eye. . Fifty-five percent of MS
patients will have an attack of optic
neuritis at some time or other and
it will be the first symptom of MS in
I had some numbness in my fingers
a few weeks ago and I have been
told I might have Multiple Sclerosis. How can I know for certain?
Patients may have numbness in
the fingers due to variety of neurological as well as others systemic
disorders. If the evaluation reveals
an abnormality that warrants
further investigations, additional
testing may be required. Generally,
patients with suspected diagnosis
of MS will need to undergo an
imaging study and, in some cases, a
lumbar puncture to confirm the
diagnosis
What should I do if I experience
some of the symptoms of Multiple
Sclerosis?
An experienced and a qualified
neurologist is your best resource of
advice on how to manage these
symptoms. Often times, the neurologist may have to consult other
specialists in his team to address
some of your complaints such as,
mood
disorder,
speech
and
language difficulties, fatigue, physical impairment, among many other
symptoms.
800 ACPN (2276) [email protected]
Disease
Modifying
Treatments
(DMTs)
may be able to
reverse MS
Symptoms for
some people
According to a recent study
published in the Journal of
Neurology, DMTs may actually
be able to reverse the symptoms
of MS, not just prevent its
worsening.
In this study, researchers measured symptoms on the Expanded Disability Status Scale
(EDSS), which looks at a
number of different factors,
including problems with walking, thinking and swallowing.
These symptoms were measured
for 2 years following treatment,
and compared those taking
alemtuzumab (a newly FDA
approved DMT) with those
taking interferon beta 1a. After
two years, 27% of people taking
alemtuzumab had improved by
at least one point on the EDSS,
compared to 15% of those taking
interferons.
DMTs have been known to slow
progression of disability and
reduce relapse rates, but this is
the first long term study of its
kind to look specifically at
improvement of symptoms.
Many of these treatments are
too new for us to know exactly
how long the benefits will last.
But the evidence so far makes us
hopeful that people starting
treatment early after diagnosis
will dramatically change the
course of their condition.
To find out more about
Multiple sclerosis and
how to manage it, please
contact
800 ACPN (2276)
or speak to your
Neurologist or clinical
Coordinator.
www.americancenteruae.com