Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor

Campaign launched to raise awareness on Multifocal Motor Neuropathy

By Canadian Chiropractor staff   

News

Aug. 15, 2013 — The Neuropathy Action Foundation (NAF) and the GBS/CIDP Foundation International has launched a joint  campaign in the U.S. to raise awareness on Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MMN), a rare and incurable neurological condition in which multiple motor nerves are attacked by the immune system. The campaign includes an educational MMN-specific brochure, as well as a public service announcement to help patients and medical professionals identify, treat and manage the progressive condition.

"Multifocal Motor Neuropathy is a serious but treatable condition where
early and accurate diagnosis is critical to preserving the livelihood of
those touched by the disease. The ability to control the progression of
MMN is directly related to how quickly the disease is correctly
diagnosed," said NAF founder and MMN patient Dominick Spatafora.

"I
was originally diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and
told that I had only three-to-five years to live. It took more than a
year before I was correctly diagnosed with MMN and began receiving the
life-sustaining IVIg treatments that continue to help me ten years
later."

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Although MMN is a rare disease — likely affecting no more
than one to two in 100,000 people — it can cause serious disability if
not correctly diagnosed. Most MMN patients are originally misdiagnosed
multiple times before correctly being diagnosed with MMN, and correct
diagnosis may take years.
   
"This joint project provides a
truly first class and comprehensive resource for people interested in
getting information on MMN," said GBS/CIDP Foundation International
president Philip Kinnicutt.

MMN tends to begin in the hands, and
symptoms may include weakness, twitching, muscle atrophy or small random
dimpling of the muscle, which neurologists call fasciculations. Men are
twice as likely as women to be affected. Most patients are in their 40s
to 60s, although MMN has also been diagnosed in patients between the
ages of 20 and 80.

Intravenous immu­noglobulin (IVIg) treatments
provide benefits to most patients with MMN, with the individual
response varying from minimal to significant. IVIg is not a cure for MMN
and currently no other therapy has proven effective.

To view the MMN brochure, and for more information about MMN, visit www.neuropathyaction.org or www.gbs-cidp.org


Watch the campaign video

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