Multiple sclerosis (MS) can make everyday activities more challenging. Here are 10 things you should know about this unpredictable disease.
MS is a progressive autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, and to date, has no cure. This year, about 200 people each week will be diagnosed with some form of MS.
MS can strike anyone at anytime, although women are diagnosed about 2.5 times more often than men. Most cases are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40. Among racial groups, White people are diagnosed more commonly than other races, although Black people, though diagnosed in lower numbers, tend to suffer more severe symptoms.
Damage to the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells, known as the myelin sheath, is the cause of MS. When this nerve covering is damaged, in this case, due to inflammation caused by a person’s own immune cells attacking their nervous system, nerve signals slow down or stop. Inflammation can occur along any area of the brain, optic nerve, and spinal cord.
Nobody knows for sure why some people get MS and others don’t. The most common thought is a virus or gene defect is to blame. MS is not contagious, inherited or genetically transmitted, although there does seem to be some genetic susceptibility to the disease.
Environmental factors may play a role in who gets MS. Some research suggests people living in the colder regions of the United States, in Europe and Canada may be at a substantially higher risk, while people who reside in warmer tropical areas were at a much lower risk. But so far this is unsubstantiated.
Getting MS doesn’t significantly alter your life span. About 45 percent of people with MS are not severely affected by the disease, however, the course of the disease is unpredictable and no two people will experience the same set of symptoms.
The unpredictability of the disease means people with MS may have varying symptoms, varying degrees of severity, and each attack or flare up can be in a different location. A flare up can last for days, weeks or even months. For some people, attacks may alternate with periods of reduced or no symptoms, called remission, although it’s common for the disease to continue to return (relapse). For some people, MS continues to worsen without periods of remission.
Fever, hot baths, sun exposure, and stress can trigger or worsen MS attacks.
The most common MS symptom is fatigue, which tends to worsen as the disease progresses. Fatigue is often most severe in the afternoon. MS symptoms may also mimic those of other central nervous system diseases, involving the muscles throughout the body. This can affect the bowels, cause numbness or tingling in extremities, reduced sexual function, alter a person’s sight and hearing, cause speech and swallowing problems, and impede normal brain function, even though the person with MS may not look ill.
While there is no cure for MS, treatments have come a long way. Getting the right treatment early is crucial to maintain your mobility and preventing further progression. Without disease-modifying therapy, about 50 percent of those diagnosed with the first stage of the disease, known as relapsing-remitting MS, will become progressive at 10 years and about one-third of those diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS will be using a wheelchair at 20 years, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
Lynette Summerill is an award-winning writer and Scuba enthusiast living in San Diego, CA with her husband and two beach loving dogs. In addition to writing for EmpowHER, her work has been seen in newspapers and magazines around the world.
Sources and patient information:
Multiple sclerosis Facts. Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. http://www.msfocus.org/Facts-About-MS.aspx
Multiple sclerosis. PubMed. National Institutes of Health http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001747
Reviewed April 25, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith
Copyright © 2024 HW, LLC d/b/a EmpowHER Media unless otherwise noted. EmpowHER does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
