In the world 2.8 million people live with multiple sclerosis, over 130 thousand in Italy alone, where the incidence is about 3,400 new cases per year in the youngest and most productive group of society (20-40 years), with a double prevalence in women than in men. Patients who can treat neurodegenerative disease at home. The most recent drug for which Aifa has authorized the reimbursement, the first high-efficacy home treatment (Het, High efficacy therapy) that is self-administered at home once a month, marks a step forward in the provision of treatments between domestic walls. This is what an article published in ‘Allies for Health‘, the portal dedicated to medical-scientific information created by Novartis.
Home care is a particularly relevant aspect considering that multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system, hinders the normal functioning of the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord through inflammation and loss of nervous tissue, leading to time to varying degrees of physical, emotional and social disability. Early diagnosis is not easy because the disease presents with very varied symptoms that can also change over time both in duration and in intensity. Among the most frequent: visual disturbances, tiredness and exhaustion (fatigue), balance and walking difficulties, lack of strength, tingling and sensitivity problems.
About 85% of people diagnosed initially have the relapsing remitting formwhich is characterized by acute episodes of disease (relapses) alternating with periods of complete or partial well-being (remissions), and for which the new highly effective home care (Het) is now available.
They stand out three forms of multiple sclerosis: primarily progressive (Smpp), relapsing-remitting (Smrr) and secondarily progressive (Smsp). The latter derives from an initial course of Smrr and is characterized by physical and cognitive alterations over time, in the presence or absence of relapses, which lead to an accumulation of neurological disability. In the field of multiple sclerosis – we read in the article – today we reach the goal of having therapies indicated for the different phases of the disease: from its manifestations in pediatric age up to the most advanced stages of their progression.
In particular, the drug for which Aifa has recently approved the reimbursement by the National Health Service responds to a significant unmet clinical need for people living with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis because it is the first highly effective therapy, targeting B lymphocytes, which can be easily self-administered, once a month at home. The possibility of having the treatment at home, with great flexibility, is a considerable advantage in terms of quality of life and direct and indirect costs for the NHS: thanks to home therapy, in fact, patients are now able to considerably reduce the time taken to face treatment, with a favorable effect on social and working life.
The home, for multiple sclerosis, is increasingly a place of care, as also provided for by the NRP, not only for treatments, but also for services that can help the patient manage their pathology. Precisely for people with multiple sclerosis, in fact, they have been developed patient television modelsartificial intelligence solutions for monitoring various parameters were promoted and free drug delivery and support services for medical staff were created.
Unlike other neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, which mainly affect the elderly population, multiple sclerosis often occurs between the ages of 20 and 30in 10% of cases by the age of 18 with profound social implications because it affects school education, professional and relational life and, in general, autonomy, given that over time the patient may require continuous assistance.
The full article is available on: https://www.alleatiperlasalute.it/alla-scoperta-di/sclerosi-multipla-cure-ogni-stadio-di-malattia.
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