Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the structures of the nervous system are damaged. The disease may take the form of relapses of various ailments interspersed with periods of remission or be constantly progressive. Currently, multiple sclerosis is incurable, but there are treatments for symptomatic MS. What are the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, how does multiple sclerosis start, and is there a test for the disease?
Multiple sclerosis - what is this disease?
Multiple sclerosis (shortened to multiple sclerosis, referred to as MS or MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease.
Multiple sclerosis is recognized as the most common neurological factor leading to disability in young people.
Multiple sclerosis actually occurs in people of all ages, however, most often the disease begins in patients between the ages of 15 and 45.
Women are more than twice as likely to develop MS. According to statistics around the world, more than 2 million people suffer from MS, in the case of Poland it is estimated that the disease affects about 40,000 of its inhabitants.
Multiple sclerosis: causes
Although the first medical descriptions of multiple sclerosis dates back to the 19th century, many aspects of the disease remain unclear to this day.
There are at least some uncertainties about the causes of multiple sclerosis -there are at least a few hypotheses about the pathogenesis of MS , however, it has still not been possible to distinguish one specific cause of demyelinating.
Possible causes of multiple sclerosis:
- Multiple sclerosis specialists usually say that the causes of the disease are genetic in combination with environmental conditions.
- The evidence for the involvement of genes in the pathogenesis of MS could be, for example, the fact that it occurs more often in patients whose families have had multiple sclerosis. Quite a lot of attention is paid to the aforementioned environmental factors that could be involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis.
- Hypotheses are put forward regarding, inter alia, the role of viral infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus infection (this is the etiological factor of mononucleosis).
- Other theories relate to low vitamin D levels in the body or the effects of smoking on increasing the risk of multiple sclerosis.
- It is also noted that patients with autoimmune diseases, such as type I diabetes or thyroid diseases, are at a greater risk of developing an individual. Analyzing the incidence of the disease in various regions of the world , it has been noticed that the number of cases in countries around the equator is generally lower than in those distant from it.
- The reason for this relationship is not clear, it is suspected that it may be caused by differences in the intensity of sunlight at different latitudes and the related differences in the amount of vitamin D in human organisms.
Multiple Sclerosis: Symptoms
The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are all sorts of neurological problems . They are caused by the fact that cells of the immune system (such as T and B lymphocytes or macrophages) start attacking their own structures of the nervous system.
As a result, MS may develop such phenomena as demyelination (destruction of the myelin sheaths), astrogliosis or remyelination.
The emerging damage may also affect oligodendrocytes, and apart from that, it may also lead to the destruction of axons of nerve cells.
Due to the nervous system injuries that occur in the course of MS, patients may experience symptoms such as:
- sensory disturbances (e.g. paraesthesia)
- imbalance
- gait impairment
- pain ailments
- unilateral visual acuity disorder
- Lhermitte's symptom (whereby, after the patient's head is bent to the chest, the patient feels as if an electric current is passing through his arms and to the lower body towards the back)
- trigeminal neuralgia
- increase in muscle tone and the associated muscle contractions
- chronic fatigue
- urination and stool disorders
- sexual dysfunctions (e.g. erectile dysfunction in men or decreased libido in patients of both sexes)
- memory, concentration and attention impairment
- muscle tremors
- dyzartria
- dizziness
- sometimes symptoms of transverse myelitis
The ailments listed above can occur in different combinations of patients - it even happens that during subsequent relapses of MS, patients experience different compilations of MS symptoms. It is worth emphasizing that the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis may be almost imperceptible.
Time matters in MS treatment
About the importance of rapid implementation of appropriate therapy in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, says Magdalena Fac-Skhirtladze, Secretary General of PTSR. The statement was recorded during the scientific conference "Physiotherapy for he alth".
Multiple sclerosis: diagnosis
Currentlythere is no one specific study that can identify multiple sclerosis.
MS is diagnosed on the basis of the nature of the patient's complaints and by carrying out numerous tests, including:
- analysis of the parameters of the cerebrospinal fluidobtained by lumbar puncture
- imaging tests(in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, MRI imaging of the structures of the nervous system plays a major role)
- electrophysiological tests(e.g. examination of visual evoked potentials)
Ultimately, the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is made on the basis of the abnormalities detected in the above-mentioned studies. The disease is diagnosed on the basis of the so-called McDonald's criteria.
- Read more: Multiple Sclerosis: Research
Multiple sclerosis: types
Multiple sclerosis does not have a homogeneous clinical course - there are many forms of the disease. The most common types of multiple sclerosis are:
- relapsing-remitting form(the most common, with episodes of relapses and periods of remission, i.e. conditions in which patients have no neurological abnormalities or only single symptoms of the disease are present )
- secondary progressive(diagnosed in patients with continued disease progression after relapses and remissions of multiple sclerosis)
- primary progressive form(in which, from the beginning of the diseasegradually but constantly increasing in intensity)
- primary relapsing disease(characterized by the fact that, in addition to a steady increase in the intensity of multiple sclerosis symptoms, patients also develop relapsing episodes)
More:
- Multiple Sclerosis: Types of Disease. SM characters
Multiple Sclerosis: Treatment
Currently, medicine does not have the means by which patients with MS could fully recover - multiple sclerosis is an incurable disease.
However, there are pharmacological agents that can both alleviate patients' complaints and inhibit the progression of multiple sclerosis. In the case of relapses, patients are given (both orally and intravenously) glucocorticoid preparations such as methylprednisolone, dexamethasone or prednisone .
In chronic treatment, other preparations are used, the purpose of which is to reduce the frequency of multiple sclerosis relapses, as well as to delay the transition of the disease into the progressive phase as much as possible.
Examples of drugs that inhibit the progression of multiple sclerosis include:
- interferon beta preparations,
- glatiramer acetate,
- natalizumab,
- fingolimod,
- mitoxantrone,
- teriflunomide.
In MS patients, interactions that affect the symptoms of the disease are also important.
In order to alleviate spasticity, patients may be administered baclofen, for example, in the case of trigeminal neuralgia, carbamazepine may be used to relieve pain.
More about MS treatments:
- Multiple Sclerosis: Treatment
- Treatment of multiple sclerosis with the Zamboni method
- Does Diet Cure Multiple Sclerosis? Facts and myths about the diet in multiple sclerosis
The condition of patients and their overall fitness may also be positively influenced by physiotherapeutic interactions and improvement exercises.
- Rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis
- Physiotherapy exercises for MS patients
MS treatment - new drugs, new therapies
The progress in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, new drugs and therapies available for patients with MS says Dr. n. med. Barbara Zakrzewska-Pniewska, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Warsaw. The statement was recorded during the scientific conference "Physiotherapy forhe alth ".
Multiple sclerosis: prognosis
Multiple sclerosis - how long is it like to live with this disease? Indeed, MS is an incurable disease, but not all patients experience permanent disability.
People with MS do not live much shorter than he althy people - the differences in survival time in this case amount to several years.
The worst prognosis applies to those patients who are not treated at all - in their case, a significant impairment of fitness after about 20 years of disease may affect even about 30% of them.
It is generally believed that if a patient does not develop significant disability about 7 years after the onset of MS symptoms, the risk of a permanent disability is actually low
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Spasticity
Physiotherapy in MS - effectiveness assessment
Physiotherapy in MS is one of the most important steps in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The effectiveness of physiotherapy in MS depends on the individual patient and is assessed on the ICF scale - the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and He alth. Aleksander Lizak from the Polish Physiotherapy Association talks about the effectiveness of physiotherapy in multiple sclerosis.
More about multiple sclerosis:
- Multiple Sclerosis in Children
- Multiple sclerosis and mental disorders
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Neuroborreliosis
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and pregnancy