Appleton's Neuroscience Group clinic can now offer comprehensive services to MS patients after receiving certification

APPLETON - The Neuroscience Group in Appleton was named a Center of Comprehensive MS Care, becoming the only center in the Fox Valley to receive the name by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The certification makes the Neuroscience Group's Appleton location, 445 W. Calumet St., the ninth facility to offer full MS care in the state, including medical, psychological, and rehabilitation services.

The clinic provides physical and speech therapy for patients with MS, a private infusion therapy area, and participates in clinical research trials for the disease. It offers the only Icobrain MRI in northeast Wisconsin, which measures brain volume in MS patients to determine progression of the disease.

"The Neuroscience Group is the center for the region. There's other clinics but they choose to come here," said Rob Multerer, president of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Wisconsin chapter.

Multiple sclerosis affects over 20,000 people in Wisconsin

MS affects about a million people around the country. Over 20,000 people live with MS in Wisconsin.

The disease impacts the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. The immune system attacks myelin, the protective covering of nerves, disrupting signals between the brain and the rest of the body. Symptoms can vary and be unpredictable but can include numbness, tingling, mood or memory problems, blindness or paralysis.

While there is no known cause for the disease, prevalence is higher in Wisconsin and other states further from the equator, said Dr. Daniel Long, the head of Neuroscience Group's Appleton clinic.

Northern states are likely to have higher cases of MS because of a vitamin D deficiency and low exposure to UVB light due to the temperate climates. The disease is most common among white people of northern European descent.

"In northern latitudes like Wisconsin, it's a hotbed for things like MS," Long said.

Seven of the nine designated MS centers in the state are based in Madison and Milwaukee. The certification of the clinic in Appleton makes care more accessible for patients in the northeast region.

"To be able to have a comprehensive center in sort of an area where it's somewhat underserved for neurology is pretty unique," Long said.

The Neuroscience Group, headquartered in Neenah, serves around 22,000 patients a year.

Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @benita_mathew.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Neuroscience Group in Appleton becomes Center of Comprehensive MS Care