LONDON, February 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The MS Society has responded to today's (Friday) sentencing of Robert Cook, who assisted the suicide of his wife, who was suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).

Jayne Spink, Director of Policy and Research at the MS Society, said: "All too often people with MS at the end stages of their lives do not receive the levels of health and social care they need, reducing the choices open to them and their carers.

"While there have been changes, we are concerned by the continued lack of palliative care at the early stages of a person's MS. Regardless of any future change to the law, people need access to excellent end of life care and support to ensure they have a genuine choice on the issue."

People affected by MS who find themselves in a similar situation can contact our freephone Helpline on 0808-800-8000.

Notes to Editors:

- The MS Society (http://www.mssociety.org.uk) is the UK's largest charity dedicated to supporting everyone whose life is touched by MS, providing respite care, an award-winning freephone helpline (0808-800-8000), specialist MS nurses and funds around 40 vital MS research projects in the UK.

- Multiple sclerosis is the most common disabling neurological disorder affecting young adults and an estimated 85,000 people in the UK have MS.

- MS is the result of damage to myelin - the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres of the central nervous system - which interferes with messages between the brain and the body.

- For some people, MS is characterised by periods of relapse and remission while for others it has a progressive pattern.

- Symptoms range from loss of sight and mobility, fatigue, depression and cognitive problems. There is no cure and few effective treatments.

For media enquiries please contact the MS Society Press Office on +44(0)20-8438-0840, or the out of hours duty press officer on +44(0)7909-851401.