Queen Máxima of the Netherlands attended the conference of the International MS Federation (MSIF) yesterday afternoon and later paid a working visit to the MS (multiple sclerosis) Expertise Centre of care institute, Nieuw Unicum in Zandvoort.
The Queen heard about new insights into the multidisciplinary treatment and care for people with progressive MS during the conference and also was present for the “presentation of a PhD research on the added value of multidisciplinary treatment interventions in progressive MS,” the Royal House explained.
While visiting the Expertise Centre, Her Majesty met patients, researchers and healthcare professionals. There are over 140 patients at the centre who are being treated while in the latter stages of the disease. Additionally, there are close to 250 people who are being provided care while leaving at home thanks to the services of Nieuw Unicum.
The centre said after the visit, “It was an honour to receive Queen Máxima, and thank you to the MS Research Foundation for making this special meeting possible!”
According to the Royal House of the Netherlands, “The MS Expertise Center is a multidisciplinary treatment centre where accommodation, care and treatment of people with MS are combined.”
Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disease with approximately 2.5 million people with the disease. Of those, one million are in the progressive form.
According to the MS International Foundation, “MS is an inflammatory demyelinating condition. This means it is caused by damage to myelin – a fatty material that insulates nerves, acting much like the covering of an electric wire. Myelin allows a nerve to transmit its impulses rapidly. It is the speed and efficiency with which these impulses are conducted that permits smooth, rapid and coordinated movements to be performed with little conscious effort.”
Then Princess Máxima swims through a canal of Amsterdam on 9 September 2012, as she takes part in the Amsterdam City Swim, a charity event organised to fund the battle against the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a motor neuron disease. (Photo credit: ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/GettyImage)
This is not the first time Queen Máxima has supported those with neurological diseases. Back in 2012, then-Princess Máxima took part in the Amsterdam City Swim – a charity event that saw her swim through the canal of Amsterdam. It raised money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly called motor neuron disease (MND) in the United Kingdom. More about her swim can be read here.
