An Introduction Into The World Of Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a persistent disease which can be quite debilitating because it affects the central nervous system, primarily the spinal cord and brain. Many doctors and medical researchers call MS an autoimmune disease as well because your immune system attacks certain things in your body like the myelin protecting the nerves as if they were alien to the body.
Here's how MS works: the immune system misdirects the white blood cells and antibodies to attack the myelin, which is a protective sheath that serves as insulation for your nerves in the brain and spinal cord. As a result, inflammation occurs and the myelin becomes damaged, eventually wearing away and affecting the nerves underneath. These affected areas become lesions and scar up which ultimately hinders or blocks the signals that the nerves send out for strength, vision, coordination and even sensations.
There are several hundred thousand people in the United States with the disease and a few million worldwide. About twice as many women as men are afflicted and the first signs of the disease usually occur between the ages of 20 to 40. This disease is unpredictable and each person experiences different severity levels of the disease. For some, it is a mild affliction while in others, quite debilitating. Thankfully, with the treatments and medications available today, MS symptoms can be reduced.
Signs of the Disease
As mentioned previously everyone presents MS in different ways and will therefore have slightly different symptoms. However, here are some of the more common ones: numbness or weakness in the limbs, tingling or painful sensations in parts of the body, tremors, fatigue, vision problems, dizziness and lack of coordination.
There are some other more pronounced symptoms that people with MS could develop such as spastic limbs or stiffness in the muscles. Bladder and bowel incontinence are issues as well as sexual dysfunction. Slurred speech and cognitive impairment from simple forgetfulness to major concentration issues can also occur.
Diagnosing Difficulties
People with MS have probably had a number of other diagnoses before doctors finally had settled on MS. The reason for the difficulties is that the symptoms of MS could also be symptoms of a variety of other ailments as well. So it could be several years before a definitive diagnosis could be presented.
And how to doctors finally make the MS diagnosis? They perform a variety of tests to pinpoint the cause. An MRI is one definitive test as it can highlight the forming lesions that the disease causes around the nerves in your brain and spinal cord area. Neurological testing is also done which can test a number of things like cognitive things as well as reflexes, coordination and more. Even a spinal tap may be performed to test the spinal fluid for proteins, abnormal white blood cell count or even an infection that could explain the symptoms.
A diagnosis of MS does not come lightly or easily because it usually is rendered only after years of pain and mystery ailments. Luckily, with the medications and alternative treatments these days, many MS sufferers are leading relatively full lives and the progression of MS is greatly slowed down as a result. There is no cure but there is a way to live with the disease.
Recommended Reading
- Diagnosis Multiple Sclerosis
- Multiple Sclerosis Explained
- Understanding The Disease Multiple Sclerosis
- Theories About Multiple Sclerosis Causes
- Various Screening Techniques To Come To An Ms Diagnosis
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