MS or Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms-Causes-Treatment
Treatments and managing symptoms
Symptoms of MS are highly variable from person to person and from time to time in the same individual. While symptoms can range from mild to severe, most can be successfully managed with strategies that include medication, self-care techniques, rehabilitation (with a physical or occupation therapist, speech/language pathologist, cognitive remediation specialist, among others), and the use of assistive devices such as a cane or crutches and a scooter or wheelchair because of fatigue, weakness, balance problems, or to assist with conserving energy.
- What is MS?
Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.
What Causes MS?
While the cause of MS is still not known, scientists believe that a combination of several factors may be involved. Understanding what causes MS will be an important step toward finding more effective ways to treat it and—ultimately—cure it, or even prevent it from occurring in the first place.
The major scientific theories about the causes of MS include the following:
Immunologic
It is now generally accepted that MS involves an abnormal response of the body’s immune system that is directed against the myelin (the fatty sheath that surrounds and insulates the nerve fibers) in the central nervous system. Ongoing efforts to learn more about the autoimmune process in MS—what sets it in motion, how it works, and how to slow or stop it—are bringing us closer to understanding the cause of MS.
Environmental
MS is known to occur more frequently in areas that are farther from the equator. Studies of migration patterns have shown that people born in an area of the world with a high risk of MS who then move to an area with a lower risk before the age of 15, acquire the risk of their new area. Such data suggest that exposure to some environmental agent that occurs before puberty may predispose a person to develop MS later on.
Some scientists think the reason may have something to do with vitamin D, which the human body produces naturally when the skin is exposed to sunlight. People who live closer to the equator are exposed to greater amounts of sunlight year-round. As a result, they tend to have higher levels of naturally-produced vitamin D, which is thought to have a beneficial impact on immune function and may help protect against autoimmune diseases like MS.
Infectious
Since initial exposure to numerous viruses, bacteria and other microbes occurs during childhood, and since viruses are well recognized as causes of demyelination and inflammation, it is possible that a virus or other infectious agent is the triggering factor in MS. More than a dozen viruses and bacteria, including measles, canine distemper, human herpes virus-6, Epstein-Barr, and Chlamydia pneumonia have been or are being investigated to determine if they are involved in the development of MS, but none have been definitively proven to trigger MS.
Genetic
While MS is not hereditary in a strict sense, having a first-degree relative such as a parent or sibling with MS increases an individual's risk of developing the disease several-fold above the risk for the general population. Studies have shown that there is a higher prevalence of certain genes in populations with higher rates of MS. Common genetic factors have also been found in some families where there is more than one person with MS. Some researchers theorize that MS develops because a person is born with a genetic predisposition to react to some environmental agent that, upon exposure, triggers an autoimmune response. Sophisticated new techniques for identifying genes may help answer questions about the role of genes in the development of MS.
Most Common Symptoms - Fatigue
- Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is one of the most common symptoms of MS, and is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.
- Problems with gait (difficulty in walking) are among the most common mobility limitations in MS. Gait problems are related to several factors.
- Bladder Dysfunction
- Bowel Dysfunction
- A vision problem is the first symptom of MS for many people. The sudden onset of double vision, poor contrast, eye pain, or heavy blurring
- Dizziness and Vertigo
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Pain
- Cognition function that refers to a range of high-level brain functions, including the ability to learn and remember information: organize, plan, and problem-solve; focus, maintain, and shift attention as necessary; understand and use language; accurately perceive the environment, and perform calculations
- Emotional Changes
- Depression
- Spasticity which refers to feelings of stiffness and a wide range of involuntary muscle spasms (sustained muscle contractions or sudden movements)
- Speech Disorders
- Swallowing Problems
- Hearing Loss
- Seizures
- Tremor, or uncontrollable shaking, can occur in various parts of the body.
- Respiration problems occur in people whose chest muscles have been severely weakened by damage to the nerves that control those muscles. Aspiration pneumonia (resulting from the food particles and/or liquids passing into the lungs) can also make breathing more difficult
- Itching
Treatments and managing symptoms
Symptoms of MS are highly variable from person to person and from time to time in the same individual. While symptoms can range from mild to severe, most can be successfully managed with strategies that include medication, self-care techniques, rehabilitation (with a physical or occupation therapist, speech/language pathologist, cognitive remediation specialist, among others), and the use of assistive devices such as a cane or crutches and a scooter or wheelchair because of fatigue, weakness, balance problems, or to assist with conserving energy.