MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PROGRAM

Mission:

To improve the lives of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Overview:

UCLA MS Clinical Services, an integral part of the overall Multiple Sclerosis Program at UCLA, serves the neurologist or primary care physician's referral needs by:

• Providing a full range of diagnostic services for patients experiencing symptoms with no definitive diagnosis
• Providing a second opinion for patients who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
• Providing the referring neurologist with an individualized treatment plan for the MS patient with a confirmed diagnosis

Program Highlights

• MS patients are seen by dedicated specialists with decades of combined experience and/or fellowship training in the diagnosis and treatment of this difficult disease.
  
  Rhonda Voskuhl, M.D., the director of the overall M.S. Program at UCLA, is a widely recognized expert in the study of the immunology of MS, working both with MS patients' blood immune cells as well as with the mouse model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).
  
  Barbara Giesser, M.D., clinical director of UCLA MS Clinical Services, specializes in MS patient care. The clinical program offers many treatments that can impact disease course, ameliorate symptoms, improve function, and enhance quality of life. Treatments are available for pain, spasticity, fatigue, genitourinary dysfunction and other impairments due to MS.
  
  Nancy Sicotte, M.D., brings neuroimaging expertise to the program. In ongoing UCLA clinical trials, her group determines when a given novel treatment has an effect on the MS lesion development using serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain.
  
  Callene Momtazee, M.D., specializes in MS patient care and provides consultative, diagnostic and management services.


• Full consultative reports are provided in writing to referring physicians in a timely manner.
• At UCLA, state-of-the-art neuroimaging is performed by expert neuroradiologists. Other sophisticated diagnostic testing is available, when appropriate.
• A certified MS nurse specialist participates in the patient's treatment regimen, attending clinic with physicians and providing support and guidance for patient issues that include bladder and bowel management, and medication issues.

The Marilyn Hilton Multiple Sclerosis Achievement Center at UCLA ( MSAC)

As an adjunct service to the diagnostic, treatment and consultative services provided, UCLA also offers access to this unique center that provides rehabilitative, recreational, and education services in a small group setting. The center, a joint effort of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (Southern California Chapter) and the UCLA Department of Neurology, offers a broad continuum of care that will complement the medical management of MS.

The overall purpose of the center is to help individuals with MS address the daily life struggles large and small inherent with the disease to improve health-related quality of life. The center's approach is to provide a range of services in a day-program format for members with all types of MS conditions including prevention of secondary medical conditions; improvement or maintenance of functional abilities and mobility; improvement of family relations, self-esteem, and emotional status; reduce social isolation and minimize hospitalizations, provide respite for care partners and prevent premature institutionalization. Participants undergo an intake evaluation and an individual treatment plan is designed for each person, and will attend one day a week (Tuesday through Friday) on the day that is best suited to their individual needs.

Other programs of the MSAC include a 12 week course for persons newly diagnosed with MS, a cognitive rehabilitation program, classes in fall prevention, and a one time comprehensive assessment for person who live outside the Los Angeles area.

For more information go to the MSAC website at: www.neurology.ucla.edu or call 310-267-4071.

Contact for Referral

Please call the UCLA Neurology Clinic at 310-794-1195 to arrange an appointment for your patient. You can ask for one of the specialists by name, or ask to speak with the MS physician for initial phone consultation.