Multiple Sclerosis (Centre)
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Our objective and guide is to provide a modern, integrated and individualised algorithm for the diagnosis and treatment of the patient with Multiple Sclerosis. This interdisciplinary treatment can be achieved only through a specialised Multiple Sclerosis Centre, in the premises and under the scientific auspices of St. Luke's Hospital, and under the supervision of an experienced, reliable and patient-oriented team of doctors and associates.
The Multiple Sclerosis Centre provides a modern, holistic and individualised algorithm for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The three main features of the special centre for the treatment of multiple sclerosis are:
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. The cause of the disease remains unknown, although it is considered to be due to a combination of environmental and genetic factors, which lead to a pathological reaction of the immune system against myelin, oligodendrocytes, axons and nerve cells, resulting in their destruction.
The main form of the disease is relapsing remitting MS which initially occurs in 85-90% of patients and is characterized by exacerbations and remissions. However, in a small percentage of 10-15% of patients, the primarily progressive form of the disease is presented, which is characterized by a progressive deterioration of the neurological picture of the patient without exacerbations and remissions. Also, a large percentage of patients with a relapsing remitting form, after many years, switch to the so-called secondary progressive form.
The paediatric and adolescent form of the disease is rarer (10%)
MS typically occurs at the age of 20 to 40 years, although it can rarely occur before the age of 10 or after 60 years. The disease affects 2.5 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of non-traumatic disability in young adults. In addition, women are twice as likely to suffer from MS than men.
Multiple Sclerosis can occur with a variety of symptoms, depending on the location and extent of the lesion. One of the most common initial manifestations of multiple sclerosis is optic neuritis, which occurs with loss of vision with accompanying pain most of the time. Also, common initial symptoms of the disease are:
More rarely, the disease can occur with:
Multiple sclerosis should be always included in the differential diagnosis of cases of occurrence of neurological semiology in young people.
The modern vision and development of the treatment of the disease, with the specialised treatments and the strict protocol for monitoring the course and possible side effects of patients, now obliges the global scientific community to create special Multiple Sclerosis Centres. Recent European guidelines for the disease state that:
"The widest range of immunomodulatory drugs for multiple sclerosis should be prescribed exclusively by Centres with corresponding full infrastructure for monitoring patients, their proper management and the ability to detect and properly treat possible side effects."
The development of the first private specialised Centre in Thessaloniki at St. Luke's Hospital is an important innovation and reference point for the treatment of the disease throughout Northern Greece. The addition of the paediatric component to the Unit creates a unique precedent, placing under the umbrella of the Centre the entire range of ages suffering from the disease.
The Multiple Sclerosis Centre of St. Luke's Hospital provides excellent quality services, such as:
At the Multiple Sclerosis Centre, we treat the patient individually and holistically, through the continuous cooperation with the medical specialties of haematology, urology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and neurosurgery, within the Hospital. There is the possibility of regular neuropsychological control and continuous psychosocial monitoring and support of patients and their relatives, in the presence of neuropsychologists specialised in the disease. Also, there is continuous cooperation with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Hospital, where through integrated planning and targeting, the centre's patients are given the opportunity of a perfect physical rehabilitation.
The continuous participation of the Centre in cutting-edge research protocols, as well as the continuous training of medical and nursing staff, provide patients with the possibility of early access to medicines before they are placed on the market.
Modern pharmaceutical immunomodulatory treatment of the disease includes various pharmaceutical preparations. Several of the preparations require the hospitalisation of patients, either daily or for a longer period of time, with the existence of clear protocols of laboratory monitoring, control of vital functions and administration procedure, which are strictly followed by the hospital's doctors and specialised nursing staff.
Treatment of any relapses of the disease includes the administration of a 3-day or 5-day 1gr Methylprednisolone regimen intravenously, which can be administered immediately to the short stay unit of the Hospital.
Disease-modifying treatments are only partially effective and do not improve the irreversible damage, which is the cause of the main symptoms of the disease. The successful treatment of these symptoms plays a key role in improving the quality of life of patients.
The monitoring and evaluation of patients with Multiple Sclerosis is carried out by the interdisciplinary team of the Centre in the Hospital's Special Outpatient Department of Multiple Sclerosis, where their individual needs are identified and the appropriate services are provided. Our goal is to:
Scientific Coordinator:
Anastasios Orologas, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology, AUTh
Scientific Coordinator of Children's Multiple Sclerosis:
Athanasios Evangeliou, MD, PhD, Professor of Paediatrics AUTh
Neurologist:
Konstantinos Notas, MD, PhDc, Neurologist
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