Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
By Temkin Jafarov, Saeed Isayev - Trend:
Approximately 5 people in Tehran get diagnosed with multiple sclerosis every day, Head of people's cooperation committee of Iranian MS society, Hossein Karavand said, Iranian ISNA news agency reported.
He added that the number of people who have multiple sclerosis in the country, is increasing day by day.
"We hope to be taking measures on educating the society about this disease," he said, adding that people in Iran are not fully aware of the multiple sclerosis.
He said that aside from having basic information about the multiple sclerosis, it is important to know ways of controlling the disease.
Multiple sclerosis or MS is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, resulting in loss of muscle control, vision, balance, and sensation (such as numbness). With MS, the nerves of the brain and spinal cord are damaged by one's own immune system.
Multiple sclerosis reportedly keeps developing among Iran's population. Fars news agency quoted head of MS research center of Tehran medical science university, Mohammad Ali Sahraian on May 15 that multiple sclerosis (MS) is developing among youth in Iran. Sahraian in particular said that judging by the people who come for treatments, it is obvious that multiple sclerosis has increased in the country, compared to 10 years ago.
"Compared to the world statistics, Iran stands among countries with high prevalence of multiple sclerosis," he said.
Aside from treating multiple sclerosis in the country, Iran also exports the medicine - according to Iran's health minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, Iran exports $20 million worth of multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment drugs to Russia.
On Oct. 15 Fars news agency reported that Iran launched production line of an oral medication for the treatment multiple sclerosis disease. The researchers of Iran's Osweh Pharmaceutical Company have gone through research for the production of Fingolimod drug. Iranian Health Ministry later issued a license for the production of the drug in the country.
In January 2013, Iranian television reported that scholars from the Tabriz Medical Research University have prepared an herbal substance which can completely cure multiple sclerosis.
The medicament is called "MS Nut" (Nutrition) and made of special oil plants. It is delivered in syrup form.
The scholars have been working to prepare the treatment for two and a half years.
The medicament was tested on 100 multiple sclerosis patients. 65 of them completed the treatment. Most patients fully recovered, but those with more advanced forms of the disease were unable to.
According to the information, the period of treatment with "MS Nut" lasts from six months to a year. The treatment has been already licensed in Iran.
According to Iranian media, the number of multiple sclerosis patients has increased in Iran in recent years. Environmental factors are behind the wide spread nature of the disease.
If multiple sclerosis continues to spread so rapidly, in ten years every Iranian family will have one member with multiple sclerosis, the information said.