Aaron Boster, MD, is a multiple sclerosis (MS) neurologist and founder of the Boster Center for Multiple Sclerosis in Columbus, Ohio. He explains why understanding what disease-modifying therapies can and can’t do is key to successful MS care.
Transcript
I think that setting up a realistic expectation for what the drug can and can’t do is paramount to success. I explain to patients and families that MS disease-modifying therapies are like a birth control pill against a future event.
If you have three kids and you start birth control, you still have three kids. They don’t go away. You’re taking a birth control to prevent an unplanned event.
If you have MS and, as a result, have accrued neurological disability, starting a DMT doesn’t make that disability go away.
You’re taking the DMT to prevent an unplanned event. A keen understanding of that is really setting the stage for a successful relationship.
