MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SPRING 2016 Mary Ann Picone, MD Medical Director, MS Center To make a gift to the Holy Name MS Center contact 201-833-3187 or visit us online at HolyName.org/foundation. Happy and Healthy Spring Greetings! I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that this past year has been filled with new advances in the field of MS care. Among the developments is a new infusion disease-modifying therapy, Lemtrada, which we have started using. In addition, studies at the ECTRIMS (European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) Interna- tional MS meeting in October showed promising results for slowing disability progression with the drug ocrelizumab. Equally important, the vitamin biotin and vitamin D continue to show benefits in decreasing MS disease activity. We are utilizing our infusion room to administer Tysabri and IV Solu-Medrol and we have added to our staff: Dr. Karen Blitz, a new physician; Matthew Schiebel, our new infusion nurse; and Jemima Akinsanya, a medical student conducting a study on whether yoga can improve sleep. Dorothy Northrop, our social worker, is in Wednesday mornings to help navigate insurance challenges, transportation issues and caregiver needs. We have also been fortunate to receive a grant to help keep women with MS and cognitive difficulties, in the workplace. And lastly, we are excited to offer transportation assistance to our patients who lack access to the MS Center and other Holy Name services with a handi- capped-accessible van we purchased, thanks to a donation by the Pitkin Foundation. Our MS Center continues to participate in research studies and leads the region in offering new therapies. There are now oral, intravenous and injectable disease- modifying therapies available to decrease relapses and slow disease progression, with more new treatments to come. Research is also ongoing in stimulating myelin repair and regeneration. The goal of our current therapies is to slow disability and decrease development of any new lesions. It is important to try and maintain good health through a low-fat diet, daily exercise, appropriate rest and vitamin D supplementation. Maintaining a sense of humor also helps to strengthen your immune system! So please stay in touch, enjoy this newsletter and remember that communi- cation is the best way to strengthen the link between us. Any comments or suggestions are always appreciated. Sincerely, Mary Ann Picone, MD Medical Director MS Staff celebrated the year’s accomplishments at the MS Awards Dinner. PAGE 3 MS Patient — From Despair to Hope PAGE 4 Dr. Karen Blitz Discusses an Individualized Treatment Plan PAGE 6 Streamlining Our Patients’ Medical Treatment SPOTLIGHT Welcome to the Spring Edition of MS Links!
Transcript
M U LT I P L E S C L E R O S I S SPRING 2016
Mary Ann Picone, MDMedical Director, MS Center
VOLUME 2 2016 YOUR PATH TO A BETTER YOU
To make a gift to the Holy Name MS Center contact 201-833-3187 or visit us online at HolyName.org/foundation.
Happy and Healthy Spring Greetings!
I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that this past year has been filled with new advances in the field of MS care. Among the developments is a new infusion disease-modifying therapy, Lemtrada, which we have started using. In addition, studies at the ECTRIMS (European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) Interna-tional MS meeting in October showed promising results for slowing disability progression with the drug ocrelizumab. Equally important, the vitamin biotin and vitamin D continue to show benefits in decreasing MS disease activity.
We are utilizing our infusion room to administer Tysabri and IV Solu-Medrol and we have added to our staff: Dr. Karen Blitz, a new physician; Matthew Schiebel, our new infusion nurse; and Jemima Akinsanya, a medical student conducting a study on whether yoga can improve sleep. Dorothy Northrop, our social worker, is in Wednesday mornings to
help navigate insurance challenges, transportation issues and caregiver needs.
We have also been fortunate to receive a grant to help keep women with MS and cognitive difficulties, in the workplace. And lastly, we are excited to offer transportation assistance to our patients who lack access to the MS Center and other Holy Name services with a handi-
capped-accessible van we purchased, thanks to a donation by the Pitkin Foundation.
Our MS Center continues to participate in research studies and leads the region in offering new therapies. There are now oral, intravenous and injectable disease- modifying therapies
available to decrease relapses and slow disease progression, with more new treatments to come. Research is also ongoing in stimulating myelin repair and regeneration.
The goal of our current therapies is to slow disability and decrease development of any new lesions. It is important to try and maintain good health through a low-fat diet, daily exercise, appropriate rest and vitamin D supplementation. Maintaining a sense of humor also helps to strengthen your immune system!
So please stay in touch, enjoy this newsletter and remember that communi-cation is the best way to strengthen the link between us. Any comments or suggestions are always appreciated.
Sincerely,
Mary Ann Picone, MDMedical Director MS Staff celebrated the year’s accomplishments
at the MS Awards Dinner.
PAGE 3 MS Patient — From
Despair to Hope
PAGE 4 Dr. Karen Blitz Discusses an
Individualized Treatment Plan
PAGE 6 Streamlining Our
Patients’ Medical Treatment
SPOTLIGHTWelcome to the Spring Edition of MS Links!
“So much is changing with MS — what we know about the possible causes, the research into medications and the different treatments,” Dr. Duncan said. “We now know there is a possibility that MS is not one disease but may actually be caused by a variety of immune defects.”
This discovery came to light after specialists found that MRIs of many patients with the disease show different types of scarring on the brain. Theoreti-cally, these scars may be caused by various illnesses rather than the same disease. Knowing who has these immune defects may help lead to preventive protocols or much more specific treatments.
At the same time, while MS is divided into four different subsets of the disease, researchers are trying to identify biomarkers in the blood that indicate
which subset each patient has so they can deliver more targeted treatment. “Medi-cations make such a marked difference in the quality of life for patients, the earlier and more precise the treatment, the more it helps reduce symptoms and limits damage to organs,” Dr. Duncan said.
“More than 11 different medications are available to reduce the progression of the disease and now there is work being done to induce a full remission,” Dr. Duncan said. “There is also a focus on regenerative medications — to actually reverse the disease.”
“Studies are being conducted with treatments that can help the nervous system regenerate,” he said. “Currently, all the medications work to prevent the disease from getting worse. These new ones may get the nervous system to repair itself.”
“ Studies are being conducted with treatments that can help the nervous system regenerate.”
David Duncan, MDNeurologist, MS Center
The MS Center at Holy Name Medical Center provides a highly experienced, multidisciplinary team of medical, nursing, and rehabilitation specialists who offer comprehensive, personalized care to about 2,000 patients. The full spectrum of onsite services includes the following:n An infusion room so patients can
receive treatment without having to travel to other areas of the hospital
n An orthotic clinic, where patients can be evaluated and fitted for braces and other assistive devices
n Vestibular therapy for patients experiencing dizziness or balance problems
n A wheelchair assessment clinic
n Same-day diagnostic testing and same-day results
n Magnetic resonance imagining (MRI), featuring open bore technology, providing better access and increased space for face and body
n Neurologic testing, including EEG and EMG
n Bladder and kidney dynamic ultrasound
n Botox treatment for spasticity and chronic headaches
n Neuropsychological testingn Eye examsn Bone density exams
Dr. Duncan Talks about New MS Discoveries
Scope of Service
Dr. David Duncan, a board-certified neurologist who sees patients and also does academic research, has been named a Top Doctor by both Inside Jersey magazine and Castle Connolly since joining the MS Center at Holy Name in 2013. He is an assistant clinical professor at Columbia University, where he teaches neurology students.
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When Leslie Ferrier says Dr. Mary Ann Picone saved her life, she isn’t indulging in hyperbole. She had been planning her suicide, deciding when and where so it wouldn’t be messy. At 41, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and vowed she wouldn’t live with the disease.
Her decision to end her life was fueled, largely, by the doctors who diagnosed her. One said she should be thankful she didn’t have a brain tumor. Another gave her a timeline — two years before she would rely on a cane, then a wheelchair, and finally, her brain would become “Swiss cheese.”
“I was a pretty tough cookie and this just wiped me out — I was distraught, broken and thought my life was over,” Leslie said. “I couldn’t believe my body betrayed me like this.”
Then she heard about Dr. Picone, the Medical Director of Holy Name’s MS Center. Leslie’s first appointment lasted more than two hours. She poured out her fears and ticked off her symptoms — tingling in her legs, nausea, dizziness, and extreme fatigue until she couldn’t lift her arms to eat.
“Dr. Picone really listened and showed the first expression of empathy and hope,” Leslie said. “She said I didn’t have to quit my job nor my life — she was my partner in this and I could still lead a very productive, wonderful life with MS.”
Leslie, who lives in Asbury Park, left the appointment and told her husband, “Ok, I’ll try to live with the disease for a while.”
It was rough before it got better. Despite an intense needle phobia, Leslie injected herself for three years with a medication that left her feverish and nauseated. Another drug landed her in the hospital when her heart rate plummeted.
By 2012, the pill, Aubagio, was available. Leslie, elated, suffered no side-effects beyond shedding some hair for about three months.
Today, she commutes to New York City as a vice president for an international restaurant group. Six years after her diagnosis, she still has some tough days. But she also has very good ones.
“Living with MS isn’t easy, but it’s better than I ever imagined in those dark, terrible days during my diagnosis,” Leslie said. “Dr. Picone literally saved my life.”
From Despair to Hope
Leslie Ferrier
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One of the most common complaints Jemima Akinsanya has heard while working with MS patients is the inability to sleep well. Jemima, a fourth-year medical student at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and heading into a neurology residency, is working at Holy Name’s MS Center this spring and is trying to find a way to make sleep less elusive for MS patients.
With a $5,000 grant from the Consortium of MS Centers, Jemima is conducting an 8-week study on whether doing yoga helps patients sleep. She has two groups of individ-uals, one doing yoga and the other participating in talk therapy.
Does Yoga Help MS Patients with Sleep Disturbances?
Jemima Akinsanya at a therapy session with patients.
“So many MS patients complain about not being able to sleep and say their medications aren’t helping,” Jemima said. “I hope this will show that there is another avenue or option, especially since so many MS patients are already taking a number of medications.”
Participants in the yoga portion of the study are taking a yoga class at Holy Name one day a week and are asked to practice for five to 10 minutes daily at home. They were given fitness tracking devices that also monitor their sleep and are keeping a sleep journal.
“Yoga helps with muscle and overall relaxation,” Jemima said. “I’m really hoping this will improve their quality of life.”
The patients involved in the study who are not taking yoga will meet in a support group setting, talking about different areas of their lives that might be affecting their sleep, such as personal relationships. They will also keep track of their sleep patterns to see if talking out some of their concerns helps with their quality of sleep.
MSM U LT I P L E S C L E R O S I S
LinksSPRING 2016
718 Teaneck Road I Teaneck, NJ 07666 www.HolyName.org/MSCenter/
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Donor dollars help the MS Center provide compassionate, high-quality medical care and support to people with multiple sclerosis and their families. Your donation will help ensure that we attract the best medical talent and equip them with the resources they need to fulfill the MS Center’s mission.
To make a gift to the Holy Name MS Center, please contact us at:
Holy Name Medical Center Foundation 718 Teaneck Road Teaneck, New Jersey 07666
