Please consult your doctor or regular health physician before following suggestions found in any Sun Day health columns/stories.
Part IV: MS research and Sun City’s new support group
My four part series on Multiple Sclerosis has illustrated the bravery shown by Sun City’s seniors who have struggled with the disorder’s varying symptoms through a large segment of their lives. Resident Carol Schaefer has a phenomenal story to tell about her struggle to maintain physical strength.
A member of the Stingrays Swim Club, during one Saturday morning practice, Carol introduced a picture of a steep stone staircase (embedded into a rocky cliff) she had recently climbed. Upon further questioning, Schaefer informed her swim buddies that she had visited Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park where she had climbed approximately 80 steps. Due to the fickle nature of the disease, however, a few weeks later, Carol emailed me that she had suffered a Multiple Sclerosis flare-up with the words “I’ve had a serious MS attack.”
Discovering factors to control this chronic debilitating disease is critical. Research to determine genetic risks continues at full strength. Work from the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium nearly doubles the number of known factors for the disease.
“The genes implicated … underline the central role played by the immune system in the development of MS and show substantial overlap with genes known to be involved in other autoimmune diseases,” according to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
This research aids in finding specific biological targets for future drug treatment strategies. In the case of MS, a research priority is finding medicines that curtail the body’s attacks on its Central Nervous System’s protective nerve sheath known as myelin. The trick here is not to compromise the rest of the body’s immune system. One recently approved blockbuster Biogen, pharmaceutical-house drug known as Tecfidera rang up $192 million in sales when introduced in the U.S. this past April.
The drug’s demand was largely due to its safety profile which Robert W. Baird & Co. financial analyst, Chris Raymond, called “far superior to anything that’s out there.” Tecfidera is used for relapsing forms of MS. Other drug clinical trials continue to take place in Chicago and neighboring suburbs.
Food studies, such as the consumption of wine to deter the disease, can be found as far away as Belgium with limited conclusive findings at this time.
To help subsidize these research programs and other MS services, well-organized fundraising events occur throughout the year. The Brighter Tomorrow Grant Program, run nationally, helps selected individuals in many diverse ways, according to its sponsor, the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
Sun City resident Sue Iwinski makes use of many of the items offered through this grant program daily, such as “a roll-in-shower adapter, Hoyer lift or sling, [and a] specialized wheel chair we got through physical therapists at Rehab Institute in Chicago’s Seating Clinic,” she said.
Since Sue was diagnosed with MS in 1979, she has been seeking to share resources and other pertinent information with MS patients to make their lives better. According to Sue’s own list:
1. Listening is much more important than talking
2. Do not judge [a person] until you walk in their shoes
3. Enjoy each and every person for what they bring to the party! Sometimes it’s not obvious, give another listen – it’s there.
Now as one of the chosen Multiple Sclerosis Foundation’s Ambassadors, Sue is on her own mission to begin a MS Support Group in Sun City. Her job as ambassador includes teaching about MS and connecting people with doctors.
With her years in leading MS counseling and exercise activities, Sue is determined to make the group happen.
“I am a stick-to-itive person,” Iwinski said.
She promises her new MS support group will have an excellent exchange of ideas with a multitude of speakers. To help make Sue Iwinski’s dream a reality, contact her at sue.msfoundation@gmail.com or at 847-669-5090. She is waiting to hear from all of her present and soon-to-be MS friends.
