Two flowers to stop multiple sclerosis. It is ‘Bentornata Gardensia’, an initiative promoted by Aism-Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association, which takes place under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic. It will be again in the Italian squares on the occasion of Women’s Day with two flowers: the gardenia and the hydrangea. A symbolic union to represent the close link between women and multiple sclerosis, because MS is a woman. The disease – recalls Aism – affects women twice as much as men, and the age of onset is that of life’s great projects, when one is projected towards the world of work and decides to start a family. Multiple sclerosis enters people’s lives mostly between the ages of 20 and 30. This disease cannot be cured and cannot be managed alone, it involves the whole family.
Welcome back Gardensia is scheduled for Saturday 4, Sunday 5 and Wednesday 8 March, International Women’s Day, in 5,000 Italian squares. The 14,000 Aism volunteers – the association points out in a note – remind everyone of the value of the event through which they invite them to choose a gardenia plant or a hydrangea plant or both to support scientific research, the only weapon today to defeat multiple sclerosis and also to guarantee responses of treatment, assistance and support to all people with MS and related pathologies. Chiara Francini, actress, presenter and writer, ambassador of Aism, has been the face of Gardensia since its first edition. This year too you wanted to stand by the association to support the fight against multiple sclerosis.
Already now it is possible to book your own gardenia and hydrangea plants, against a minimum donation of 15 euros, by contacting the provincial section of your city. The list of squares can be consulted at http://www.aism.it/gardensia. To donate, the solidarity number 45512 is also active.
Chronic, unpredictable and disabling disease, multiple sclerosis is one of the most serious pathologies of the central nervous system, explains Aism. It often causes disability, even severe. 50% of people with MS are young and not yet 40 years old. The disease is the leading cause of neurological disability in young adults after trauma. In Italy there are 133,000 people affected by multiple sclerosis, with 3,600 new cases every year: one every three hours. The cause and cure have not yet been found, but thanks to the progress made by scientific research, there are therapies and treatments capable of slowing down the course of multiple sclerosis and improving the quality of life of people with MS. Among the pathologies related to multiple sclerosis is neuromyelitis optica (Nmo), which has a framework of health and social care needs and interventions similar to MS.
Therefore, supporting research is essential. Donating to number 45512 allows you to raise other funds in addition to those of Gardensia, to be specifically allocated to the ‘Promopro-Ms Digital Edition’ project promoted by Fism, the Aism Foundation, to evaluate the progression of the disease and predict its progress. The person participates in the research as a protagonist, as an expert on his disease, thanks to the sharing of data collected continuously on his state of health. Aim of the project: to exploit self-reported data, identifying event prediction algorithms, so as to plan, personalize and optimize the management of the disease and the efficacy of therapeutic treatments, in particular rehabilitation. The digital edition is the digital evolution of the project which will make it possible to directly reach people with Sm. Through an App on their smartphones, people with multiple sclerosis involved in the study will be able to monitor their health status, contribute to the project by interfacing with health professionals in a more aware way. The algorithm was developed by a team of researchers led by Giampaolo Brichetto, Fism rehabilitation research coordinator and medical director of the Aism Liguria rehabilitation service.
The amounts of the donation with solidarity number will be 5 or 10 euros from a call from a Tim, Vodafone, WindTre, Fastweb and Tiscali landline; 5 euros from a call from a TWT, Convergenze and PosteMobile landline; of 2 euros with SMS from WindTre, Tim Vodafone, Iliad, PosteMobile, CoopVoce and Tiscali personal mobile phones.