Over the past 30 years there have been significant advances in our understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) due to the use of MRIs to better visualize the disease and because of the introduction of new ameliorating drugs. However, MS is still an incurable disease and diagnosis remains challenging for many physicians; for instance symptoms often mimic MS and there is not a specific test for the disease. To ensure optimal patient care there is a need for physicians to remain up to date with new drugs on the market, disease detection, diagnosis, and latest management options. The Handbook of Multiple Sclerosis (Second Edition) provides a concise, easily assessable guide for all healthcare professionals involved in the diagnosis and management of this condition, including standard therapies, as well as more novel treatments. The book includes comprehensive evaluations of the pharmacological treatments available, including novel investigational agents currently in development.
Jeffrey A Cohen MD is Professor of Medicine (Neurology) in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and has worked at the Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research since 1994. Dr Cohen received his BA in Zoology from Connecticut College in 1976 and MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1980. He completed a neurology residency in 1984, then a 3-year neuroimmunology fellowship with Robert Lisak MD and Mark Greene MD at the University of Pennsylvania. He was on the faculty in the department of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1994. Dr Cohen’s research interests included autoimmune mechanisms, anti-viral immunity, lymphocyte activation, and glial biology as they relate to multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr Cohen moved to the Cleveland Clinic in 1994 to direct the Mellen Center’s Experimental Therapeutics Program. He has been involved in various capacities in a large number of clinical trials developing new therapies for MS. In addition, he has helped develop new clinical and imaging endpoints for MS trials. At the Mellen Center, Dr Cohen also directs the Clinical Neuroimmunology Fellowship that has trained a number of MS clinical investigators. Finally, Dr Cohen has a large clinical practice devoted to the diagnosis and management of MS and related disorders.
Alexander Rae-Grant, MD FRCP is a staff neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and molecular biology from Yale in 1979, he graduated from McMaster University Medical School in 1982. He completed 2 years of internal medicine at the University of Toronto then a neurology residency at the University of Western Ontario in 1987. Dr Rae-Grant joined the Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research in 2007, where he is engaged in patient care and clinical trials and directs the patient and professional educational efforts. He is active in medical student, resident, and fellow training and co-directs the neurosciences clinical clerkship in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Dr Rae-Grant was recently honored as “Teacher of the year” for the Neurology Department at the Cleveland Clinic. He authored the neurology textbook Neurology for the House Officer and co-edited The 5-Minute Consult in Neurology.
