The Nebraska Medical Center is home to one of the most comprehensive MS Clinics in the region and is helping improve the quality of life to hundreds of patients each year.

"Too often, patients are told they have MS and now they have to live with it." says Mary Filipi, A.P.R.N. and nurse practitioner with the Department of Neurological Sciences, and coordinator of The Nebraska Medical Center's MS Clinic. "But there is help available for these patients that can help them live a more comfortable lifestyle. "With proper care and treatment, the disease process can be slowed in 30 to 60 percent of cases," says Ekaterina Markopoulo, M.D., neurologist with The Nebraska Medical Center. "Treatment for MS has improved tremendously over the last 10 years."

The MS Clinic uses a team approach to treating MS patients. Patients benefit from the expertise of specialists in areas such as neurology, physical and occupational therapy, psychiatry, urology and OB/GYN. "Treating the whole person and their individual symptoms can make a significant difference in their quality of life," says Filipi. Because the condition of MS patients is often changing, the clinic follows patients on a regular basis to adjust treatments as necessary to provide better control of symptoms.