With so many new multiple sclerosis treatment options being made available, it is important to know which ones are proven effective.

Multiple Sclerosis or MS is a chronic disease of the nervous system. This debilitating disease affects the myelin sheaths that cover all the nerves in the human body. If you are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it means that the myelin in your body is progressively thinning and deteriorating. When the myelin sheath on your nerves begins weakening, it causes a whole world of unpredictable problems. Not only do the nerves stop functioning normally, but the speed of nerve signal transmissions also get reduced. Multiple sclerosis causes different symptoms and effects in different people. This means that the MS treatment plan needs to be tailored to suit the specific needs of the person suffering from the disease. While there is no one-cure-fits-all for this disease, there are a number of new multiple sclerosis treatment options that are made available for people who receive their diagnosis.

MS Symptoms

New multiple sclerosis treatment options are focused on minimizing the severity of the condition, reducing the chance of flare-ups, as well as slowing down the overall progression of the disease. Symptoms such as mobility problems, balance issues, slurred speech patterns, muscle spasms and stiffness, loss of vision, tingling in the body, loss of cognitive functioning, and loss of memory, can severely reduce the quality of the patient’s life. New multiple sclerosis treatment medications are used in tandem with behavioral therapy to alleviate the stress caused by the condition in every way possible. Other than this, there are also a number of support groups that bring together people suffering with MS so you can get the much-needed emotional and practical guidance on how to combat this disease.

New Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Options

There are a number of new multiple sclerosis treatment medications/drugs and therapies that are now being used to effectively treat this condition. Here are a few that you may discuss with your physician.

• Ampyra

Better known as Dalfampridine, Ampyra is a potassium channel blocker that is now being used to treat MS. One of the debilitating and progressive symptoms of MS is mobility problems. Since the deteriorating myelin sheaths can no longer transmit nerve signals accurately, the patient is likely to suffer from imbalanced gait issues as well as gradual loss of mobility. Ampyra is a new multiple sclerosis treatment medication that combats this issue by blocking the potassium channels on the surface of the nerves. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society reports that this new multiple sclerosis treatment drug has helped boost the walking speed and leg muscle strength in the sample group of patients.

• Teriflunomide

Teriflunomide or Aubagio is the second orally-consumed medication that has received approval for use. Being used since 2012, this new multiple sclerosis treatment drug is a disease-modifying medication that works by slowing down the progressive nature of MS, as well as reducing flare-ups and relapses.

• Tecfidera

Approved in 2013, Dimethyl Fumarate or Tecfidera is the third orally-consumed disease-modifying drug that has received approval for MS treatment. Prescribed specifically for those who have Relapsing-Remitting MS, this drug prevents the immune system from damaging the myelin sheaths. In a short time, this new multiple sclerosis treatment option has helped reduce the progression of RRMS in many patients.

• Treatment Patches

JAMA Neurology studies indicate that the use of myelin peptide patches may serve to reduce the number of relapses as well as the formation of lesions in patients. This therapy option is one of the most promising new multiple sclerosis treatments available today. In this therapy, patients have to wear a myelin peptide protein fragment patch for a period of one year.

• Story-based Association with mSMT

In a study conducted by the Kessler Foundation Research Center, it was found that mSMT or modified story memory technique was effective in improving the cognitive functioning of individuals with MS.

Since a cure for MS has not been discovered yet, research is continually edging toward newer and more improved MS treatment. The process involves a lot of trial and error. However, the funding for MS-related research is going strong. While a cure might not be on the cards just yet, these new multiple sclerosis treatment drugs and therapies are working towards ensuring a brighter future for long-suffering patients.