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Authors: Jamuna Rangachari
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Cell Therapy
Yet another option that I had heard about in 2009 was stem cell transplant which was supposed to help keep the symptoms of MS under control. Till today, this treatment has not been proven effective. Like CSSVI, it has received mixed reviews. While some people get better, others get worse, partly due to the treatment and partly due to the intense disappointment they feel when there are no visible results.
Through my circle of friends who had MS, I happened to come across Mihir Sharma (*name changed) in 2010 who had spent a lot of money to explore stem cell therapy but he had not benefited much. Even in India there is a lot of debate on the benefits of stem cell therapy in the medical fraternity. In May 2015 the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) announced that it planned to conduct advance stem cell research for MS. The proposal is still awaiting funding approval from the government.
Medical Marijuana
Marijuana made headlines in 2012 when reports emerged that a study had concluded that cannabis if smoked was superior to a placebo in reducing spasticity and pain in patients with MS and in capsule form was highly effective at managing many of the symptoms of MS.
At that time, a friend Priya who was also an MS patient told me I should write about the benefits of medical cannabis treatments in my capacity as a health journalist and even lobby for cannabis to be made legal for medical use in India.
‘I know if there is more lobbying, doctors will prescribe it to us as a medicine,’ she said. Priya had seen an Australian TV show where apparently an MS patient had responded well to medical cannabis treatments. Once again I realized that just like CCSVI, it was marijuana’s turn to shine as a symbol of hope. I wondered what would happen if it became an addiction. Wouldn’t that then require a separate treatment to treat the addiction? I wonder how many neurologists would recommend it to their patients.
There is a lot of research going on in the area of neurology. Nowadays, every little thing is published in the media, and especially on the Internet. This allows most of us do a lot of medical research on our own.
Here, it is important to remember that the doctor plays a key role in guiding his patients through the maze of medical information and misinformation available today.
Having a good doctor on call is essential or life can become very challenging. Especially in case of an ailment like MS that does not have a definite cure. As of now we have to understand that having regular communication with our neurologist is in our best interests.
One must realize that most doctors want their patients to get better. If one has been unfortunate to come across a doctor who is not of this type, then the best thing to do would be to find a trustworthy doctor as soon as possible, preferably one who comes highly recommended.
I think it makes good sense to make a checklist before you decide to explore any kind of treatment or therapy. Here are four points which I think are particularly relevant.
First, have you met other people who have benefited from this therapy?
Today, anyone can post anything on the Internet and even some media reports and articles lack clarity, doctors are misquoted, information is not attributed to the correct sources or the story is not well-researched. Since one cannot rely on all that one reads it makes perfect sense to meet the people who have benefited from a therapy, if possible, in person or have a chat with them on the phone. Not only is this a foolproof method of gaining information there is so much to learn from other people’s experiences.
Second, ask people who underwent a particular therapy how they felt after a year. Instead of looking for instant results try to look at the long-term effects of a particular treatment. To illustrate the point one only has to look at the story of the Thalidomide tragedy. Thalidomide, an anti-nausea drug and sedative that was introduced
Yet another option that I had heard about in 2009 was stem cell transplant which was supposed to help keep the symptoms of MS under control. Till today, this treatment has not been proven effective. Like CSSVI, it has received mixed reviews. While some people get better, others get worse, partly due to the treatment and partly due to the intense disappointment they feel when there are no visible results.
Through my circle of friends who had MS, I happened to come across Mihir Sharma (*name changed) in 2010 who had spent a lot of money to explore stem cell therapy but he had not benefited much. Even in India there is a lot of debate on the benefits of stem cell therapy in the medical fraternity. In May 2015 the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) announced that it planned to conduct advance stem cell research for MS. The proposal is still awaiting funding approval from the government.
Medical Marijuana
Marijuana made headlines in 2012 when reports emerged that a study had concluded that cannabis if smoked was superior to a placebo in reducing spasticity and pain in patients with MS and in capsule form was highly effective at managing many of the symptoms of MS.
At that time, a friend Priya who was also an MS patient told me I should write about the benefits of medical cannabis treatments in my capacity as a health journalist and even lobby for cannabis to be made legal for medical use in India.
‘I know if there is more lobbying, doctors will prescribe it to us as a medicine,’ she said. Priya had seen an Australian TV show where apparently an MS patient had responded well to medical cannabis treatments. Once again I realized that just like CCSVI, it was marijuana’s turn to shine as a symbol of hope. I wondered what would happen if it became an addiction. Wouldn’t that then require a separate treatment to treat the addiction? I wonder how many neurologists would recommend it to their patients.
There is a lot of research going on in the area of neurology. Nowadays, every little thing is published in the media, and especially on the Internet. This allows most of us do a lot of medical research on our own.
Here, it is important to remember that the doctor plays a key role in guiding his patients through the maze of medical information and misinformation available today.
Having a good doctor on call is essential or life can become very challenging. Especially in case of an ailment like MS that does not have a definite cure. As of now we have to understand that having regular communication with our neurologist is in our best interests.
One must realize that most doctors want their patients to get better. If one has been unfortunate to come across a doctor who is not of this type, then the best thing to do would be to find a trustworthy doctor as soon as possible, preferably one who comes highly recommended.
I think it makes good sense to make a checklist before you decide to explore any kind of treatment or therapy. Here are four points which I think are particularly relevant.
First, have you met other people who have benefited from this therapy?
Today, anyone can post anything on the Internet and even some media reports and articles lack clarity, doctors are misquoted, information is not attributed to the correct sources or the story is not well-researched. Since one cannot rely on all that one reads it makes perfect sense to meet the people who have benefited from a therapy, if possible, in person or have a chat with them on the phone. Not only is this a foolproof method of gaining information there is so much to learn from other people’s experiences.
Second, ask people who underwent a particular therapy how they felt after a year. Instead of looking for instant results try to look at the long-term effects of a particular treatment. To illustrate the point one only has to look at the story of the Thalidomide tragedy. Thalidomide, an anti-nausea drug and sedative that was introduced
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