The University of Nebraska Medical Center has opened a new multiple
sclerosis clinic to better serve MS patients in the region. The clinic
will provide a variety of services including physical therapy, urological
services, nutritional counseling, psychological support services, as well
as OB/GYN services for women with MS in their childbearing years.
The clinic will be staffed by Rifaat Bashir, M.D., chief of neurology;
Mary Filipi, nurse practitioner/nurse coordinator; and Tammy Roehrs, physical
therapist. Also assisting will be health-care professionals from numerous
other disciplines.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease affecting the central nervous
system. Its symptoms may start with slight blurring or loss of vision,
fatigue or difficulty in balance. Eventually, patients may become completely
disabled. The cause of MS is unknown. This unpredictable disease is not
contagious, and it is rarely fatal.
More than a third of a million Americans have MS, including approximately
5,000 in Nebraska and Pottawattamie County in Iowa. MS is the third leading
cause of disability in young adults, with diagnosis typically made between
the ages of 20 and 50. Women develop MS at a rate of more than double that
of men.
"The Medical Center does not intend to replace the patient’s primary
care physician," Dr. Bashir said. "We want to serve as an information
resource for the family physician or neurologist."
He added that the clinic will work closely with the Multiple Sclerosis
Society to care for and provide information to MS patients. Dr. Bashir
is a member of the board of directors for the state chapter of the Multiple
Sclerosis Society and serves on the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scientific
Committee. He has seen MS patients for a number of years as well as other
patients with neurological problems. He has now decided to start devoting
most of his time to the care of MS patients.
The clinic runs three half days a week, on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons
and Friday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon. It is located in the Internal
Medicine Clinic on the fifth floor of the UNMC Outpatient Care Center on
45th and Emile St.
Dr. Bashir said having a center dedicated to serving MS patients could
allow UNMC to participate in national clinical trials of potentially useful
drugs before they are released by the FDA. To make an appointment, or for
more information about the clinic, call (402) 559-4496.