Selma Blair's attorney says missed MS medication caused her arrest

Key Points:

• Actress Selma Blair was arrested on a Delta flight to New York City after allegedly assaulting a police officer and nurse; her attorney stated she had missed several doses of powerful medication for her multiple sclerosis (MS), leading to severe confusion and disorientation.
• Blair, diagnosed with MS in 2018, reportedly hit her head during the flight, and her attorney claimed the incident was a medical emergency rather than criminal behavior, possibly influenced by altitude.
• MS treatments include disease-modifying therapies that prevent relapses and symptom-managing medications; missing doses can increase the risk of relapse, causing neurological symptoms such as balance issues, vision loss, and weakness.
• Doctors emphasize the importance of medication compliance, warning that abrupt cessation, especially of anti-trafficking drugs, can lead to rapid disease reactivation and severe relapses, while steroids may help manage acute symptoms but do not improve long-term outcomes.
• The impact of missed doses varies by medication type, treatment duration, and individual patient factors, with some therapies like cell-depleting agents being less immediately affected by a single missed dose but still risky if doses are consistently skipped.