Ask the Doc: Q & A with Edward Kasarskis, MD, PhD

Edward Kasarskis, MD, PhD is Director of the University of Kentucky ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Kentucky, and Chief of Neurology at the VA Medical Center in Lexington KY. 

Dr. Kasarskis

Q:  Why should I go to an ALS Association Certified Center instead of seeing a neurologist near where we live? Is it really worth the extra trouble? 

Dr. Kasarskis:  Although there are many reasons to go to an ALS Association Certified Center, the major benefit is experience.  ALS is still a rare disease and your regular neurologist may not have a great deal of personal experience in the ongoing management of ALS.  

ALS Association Certified Centers provide the knowledge and experience of the entire multi-disciplinary team, which includes a physician, a physical therapist, a respiratory therapist, an occupational therapist, a registered nurse, and others, who each evaluate the person with ALS at every visit to the Center. They are experienced in solving problems and are familiar with the wide range of resources that are available. 

In a typical ALS Association Certified Center, the physician and the Center’s multi-disciplinary team may treat about six or seven people with ALS each week. We deal with a great variety of issues, some very specific to people with ALS.  The experience gained by working with so many patients and families allows us to anticipate and hopefully prevent many troublesome problems.  Not surprisingly, the more people with ALS a neurologist sees, the better he or she will be at anticipating problems that may become evident in the near future and be pro-active in their management.  In addition, neurologists who specialize in treating ALS will likely be able to enroll patients into clinical drug trials to experimentally test new treatments for this disorder. 

At the end of every day in the Certified Center, the entire multi-disciplinary team discusses each patient’s case and works together to find the best solution for the issues and problems identified during that visit. The combined experience of the team provides creative and effective solutions that may not have been possible without a multi-disciplinary approach.  Studies have shown that people treated in Certified Centers that feature multi-disciplinary teams have longer survival and better quality of life than those who are seeing a neurologist or other physician not associated with such a Center.  As in almost everything else, experience makes a difference. 

If you have questions about what an ALS Certified Center could do for you, feel free to call the Center closest to you and talk with a staff member there or contact us.