You’ve probably heard of multiple sclerosis (MS) but may not understand what it is or how it affects people who have it. MS symptoms can come on suddenly. Just ask Misty Persico of Coral Springs; 25 years ago, she lay in a Daytona emergency room wondering what in the world was going on with her health.

“It hit me completely out of left field. My mother and friends, we all went up to Daytona for the 4^th of July weekend to see the Daytona 500 race,” recalls the 63-year-old former sales and marketing representative. When she awoke the next morning, she knew something was wrong.

“I couldn’t see correctly, my eyes weren’t tracking and I couldn’t walk. We went to the emergency room and they told me, ‘You either have a brain tumor or you have multiple sclerosis.’” Ms. Persico says she was “completely shocked” by her preliminary diagnosis and “didn’t know which way to pray.”

(Watch now:  Many of us don’t understand what multiple sclerosis is or how it affects you. Misty Persico knows MS all too well but is grateful for the experts at Marcus Neuroscience Institute for improving her quality of life. Video by Carol Higgins, Homestretch Creative.)

What is Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Experts call MS a “baffling” disease because its exact cause remains unknown, there is no cure and its symptoms can vary greatly from patient to patient. In addition, an individual’s experience with MS may change from day to day and year to year.

MS is a chronic inflammatory condition of the central nervous system comprising the optic nerves, the brain and the spinal cord, explains neurologist Amy Wei-Hsin Laitinen, M.D., director of multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology at Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, a part of Baptist Health. It attacks the myelin sheath, which insulates and protects delicate nerve fibers such as those in the brain and spinal cord.

“‘Multiple’ means it’s not a one-time occurrence but rather repeat episodes of inflammation. ‘Sclerosis’ is another way to say scar. So essentially, MS is a disease that causes repeated episodes of inflammation that lead to nerve injury and scarring,” Dr. Laitinen says.

Nearly one million people in the United States live with MS, according to the National MS Society, and it affects people of all ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds, in every region of the country. Women are three times more likely than men to be diagnosed with the disease.

Common Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

An individual’s experience with MS may change from day to day and year to year, and MS can affect different areas of the body.

Symptoms of MS depend on where inflammation and damage are occurring at any specific time. Even though symptoms can vary depending on the patient, common MS symptoms include:

·      Sensory changes

·      Vision loss

·      Pain, numbness or tingling

·      Weakness or fatigue

·      Bowel or bladder dysfunction

·      Depression or mood changes

·      Headaches

·      Memory Difficulties

Controlling Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with Medications

Ms. Persico was eventually diagnosed with the most common form of MS, Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS). Roughly 85% of people initially diagnosed with MS have RMMS, which is marked by clearly defined attacks – called relapses or exacerbations – of new or increasing neurologic symptoms. “After one or two weeks, the symptoms get better and go away until perhaps a few months later or a few years later, another new symptom occurs,” says Dr. Laitinen.

Prior to meeting Dr. Laitinen in December 2023, Ms. Persico was under the care of a neurologist who was about to retire. She had been on a daily regimen of oral medications to help manage her symptoms and control progression of her disease, but she eventually tired of these because of their side effects and their decreasing efficacy. And her flare-ups, as she calls them, started becoming more frequent and severe.

“The cognitive problems, the headaches, the overwhelming fatigue, the balance issues, it all made me feel absolutely horrible,” says Ms. Persico, who had also just gone through a divorce at the time. “I grew up on a farm and was a pretty strong girl, even now at my age. But the fact that I couldn’t even open anything anymore was really bumming me. I was, like, ‘What is happening?’” She knew it was time for a new neurologist.

Making a Connection; Confirming a Diagnosis

By chance, Ms. Persico met her soon-to-be neurologist the week before she became her patient, at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Annual MS Gala in Boca Raton. The event, sponsored in part by Baptist Health, has raised millions of dollars to help fund critical research to find a cure for MS.

Ms. Persico was there with her husband Dan – “my external brain,” she calls him, because he’s always quick to help her with the occasional cognitive stumbles that come with MS. The couple was being honored with the MS Society’s Hope Award, recognizing individuals such as the Persicos who have made significant contributions to the fight against MS. Onstage they met Dr. Laitinen, who was there on behalf of Marcus Neuroscience Institute.

“I really liked her as a person,” Ms. Persico says. “She makes eye contact and actually listens. She hears what’s being said – and what’s not being said.” A week later, she was in Dr. Laitinen’s MS clinic at Marcus Neuroscience Institute, undergoing a head-to-toe evaluation.

“When I first saw Ms. Persico in my clinic, she was off of her treatments and she had multiple symptoms that were really affecting her quality of life,” Dr. Laitinen recalls. Because there is no single test to diagnose MS, she says she relies on a combination of the patient’s medical history and a thorough clinical examination that looks at bladder function or dysfunction; bowel function or dysfunction; cognitive dysfunction; sleep quality; mood, and gait.

“More importantly, we also use MRI imaging and also spinal fluid analysis to confirm MS, which on an MRI appears as white spots in specific, characteristic locations of the brain,” Dr. Laitinen notes.

Improving Quality of Life for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Patients

Treatment of MS has come a really long way, says Dr. Laitinen, and Ms. Persico is proof. “Our first approved disease modifying therapy, or DMT, only came out in 1994. In the past eight to 10 years, we’ve had an abundance of very effective, very tolerable medications come to market.” These have revolutionized the treatment of MS by preventing new lesions from occurring and causing a relapse, she says.

“Because Ms. Persico had so many issues with side effects and then being off of treatment, we were focused on slowing down or stopping any progression of her symptoms and getting her on medications that wouldn’t give her these side effects,” Dr. Laitinen notes. “She had significant difficulties with fatigue and we tried a few different medications to help give her the energy she needed to carry out her activities of everyday living.”

Fast-forward to today and Dr. Laitinen says that Ms. Persico is in a better place. “We’ve found treatments that are effective and that she can tolerate. She has energy, and her bowel and bladder symptoms are better,” Dr. Laitinen says. “She still has MS, she still has symptoms, but her quality of life is better than it has been in years.”

Ms. Persico couldn’t agree more and is grateful for Dr. Laitinen helping improve her quality of life. “I’m feeling much better. I’m so much clearer than I was a year ago. I’m happy, I’m joyful on the inside,” she says. “Before I started seeing Dr. Laitinen, I really was feeling very hopeless. I couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. When I was first diagnosed with MS 25 years ago, I was told I’d be dead or in a nursing home by my 60s. Because they just didn’t know that much about the disease.”

While she used to take 15 pills every night for her MS, Ms. Persico is down to nine now, with the goal of getting down to five or six. “I’m going to get there,” she vows. “Dr. Laitinen has shown me that she’s willing to work with me and help me get clear of so many of these medications.”

Reaching Full Potential with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Ms. Persico is quick to point out that it’s not just the MS that defines their doctor-patient relationship. “Dr. Laitinen is amazing. I’m not just another file on her desk. She sees me as a person and knows what’s going on with me on a deeper level. I appreciate that. She’s the best doctor I’ve ever had.”

Dr. Laitinen appreciates the compliment but credits her colleagues and staff, too. “One of the main reasons I wanted to be an MS specialist was to help people live their life to their fullest, to reach their full potential,” she says. “I take pride in individualizing the care for each of my patients but when it comes to diagnosing and treating MS, it really does take a village, which is what we have here at Marcus Neuroscience Institute.”

Ms. Persico adds that MS is the hardest yet best blessing she’s ever received because of the way it has changed her. “I have a fierce faith and that’s what keeps me going. And I know that God built these shoulders and he knows what they can stand. MS has taken a lot from me but it’s given a lot to me, too. I’ve met wonderful people because of it and it’s taught me a lot about life and about priorities and what does not matter,” she says.