100 Questions & Anwers About Multiple Sclerosis

This book was much deeper and "text-bookier" than I need for understanding. In fact, I am still processing this book... wondering why there is such a slant about using steroids... is there an alterior motive? Is this really all fact? Is opinion talking over the fact? But this reading has given me more (educated?) questions to ask my neurologist.

It talks about the negative use of oral and IV steroids... which I have known and have experienced the side effects. However, this book also says that high dose steroids may result in serious muscle damage and that "IV steroids were shown to actually induce the death of brain nerve cells. Another treatment, ACTH - also called corticotrophin - (a treatment I had never heard of until this book), "has the opposite effect" and "have an anbolic (protein building) effect." BUT, "Many neurologists favor the use of steroids as being convenient, disregarding the lack of adequate controlled trials in MS." This book even states that "corticotrophin remains as the only FDA-approved treatment for attacks (relapses) of MS." Really? Then why haven't I heard of it? Why hasn't my doctor mentioned it? Lots of questions... still processing...