MS Care of Connecticut
Opens
Offers State’s First Comprehensive Multiple
Sclerosis Treatment Center
Norwich, CT: Neurology Associates has announced
the opening of MS Care of Connecticut, the State’s first comprehensive
treatment facility for people who have Multiple Sclerosis. Derek Smith,
MD was the leader of the creation of this facility and has been named
the Director.
MS Care will deliver management of care on a continuum so
that patients receive the best care and guidance at all courses of
the disease including timely and accurate diagnosis, therapeutic relationship
with the interdisciplinary team, functional abilities maximized, effective
disease management skills and strategies, adherence to integrated plan
of care and optimal health-related quality of life.
MS Care of Connecticut
is located at One Towne Park Plaza in Norwich, Connecticut and may be
contacted at 860.886.1433 or www.mscarect.org
Dr. Smith is a nationally
recognized MS researcher and clinician. Over the past 11 years, he has
provided tertiary care for difficult MS cases at Brigham & Women’s
Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he helped to set
up MS Centers. He has been principal investigator of a number of multi-center
MS clinical trials.
“With approximately 6,000 state residents living with MS, it
was clear that it was important to have a facility that can accommodate
these patients and deliver the highest levels of care,” Smith explained. “We
will have all of the specialists under one roof - neurologists, Social
Workers, Infusion Services, Radiology Occupational Therapy, Neuropsychology
and Psychiatry, Neurosurgery/Pain Management, Urology and Ophthalmology
as well as the latest MRI technology. Our experienced and caring staff
understands the medical, social and financial challenges characteristic
of MS and is committed to improving the quality of life for our patients.”
MS
Care of Connecticut also has an important developing research component.
This includes MRI analysis research, Endocrine and Behavioral Studies
in MS patients, as well as Clinical Trials to test oral or monoclonal
antibody agents, which appear to have the potential for improved efficacy
with better tolerability than currently available drugs.
Multiple Sclerosis
Care of Connecticut is recognized by international MS leadership organizations,
such as the Consortium of MS Centers and the National Multiple Sclerosis
Society, who connect MS experts for the purpose of sharing information
and knowledge.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, sometimes
disabling disease of the central nervous system. MS symptoms range from mild ones — such
as slight numbness of the limbs — to the more severe, such as loss
of vision and paralysis. Other common symptoms can include vision impairment,
tingling and numbness of the skin and limbs, loss of coordination, difficulty
with walking, weakness and exhaustion, stiff muscles, memory loss, dizziness
and depression. Patients with multiple sclerosis can go into remission,
experiencing none of the typical symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and
function normally for long periods. Multiple Sclerosis is one of the
most common yet challenging neurological diseases of young adults and
it affects more than 400,000 individuals in the United States
Notable people with MS include actress Annette
Funicello, actress Teri
Garr, talk show host, Montel
Williams, comedian Richard
Pryor, David Lander, "Squiggy" on Laverne & Shirley,
writer Joan
Didion, Jonathan
Katz, creator and star of "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist”,
and most notable, President Jeb Bartlett from NBC’s Emmy-Winning
West Wing played by Martin Sheen.
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