show that people with MS can lead normal lives if they work with their care team.
MS attacks the axons, or nerve fibers, in the central nervous system that send messages from your brain to your muscles and other parts of the body. It also can affect your vision and balance.
Symptoms
In sclerosis (say: “skloh-roh-sis”), your body’s immune system attacks the sheath that protects your nerve fibers. This sheath is called the myelin sheath, and it helps your nerves send messages quickly and correctly. The attack in MS disrupts the myelin and sometimes damages the nerve fibers themselves. This slows down or stops their signals.
You might also have problems with balance and coordination, called ataxia. You might feel strange sensations on your skin, such as pins and needles, tingling, or the feeling that insects crawl around you (called dysesthesia). You might have trouble thinking or remembering things, and you might have depression or anxiety. You might have problems with bladder and bowel control. Some people with MS have a problem expressing emotion in a normal way, like laughing or crying at inappropriate times (pseudobulbar affect).
The most common type of MS is relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The symptoms come and go. You might have a few attacks or relapses and then have a period of no symptoms. Then your symptoms might get worse again, or new ones might show up.
Some people have progressive MS, which means that their symptoms get steadily worse over time. It can happen in one part of the body or in different parts at the same time. The most common symptoms are problems with balance and walking, spasms, weakness, fatigue, and memory and thinking skills.
You might notice that your symptoms are worse in hot weather or with stress. This is because your nerves may be more sensitive. You might also notice that you get more fatigued, or that your muscle stiffness gets worse, when you exercise. You might find that your symptoms are more severe in the evening than during the day. It’s important to keep track of your symptoms so you can tell whether they’re getting better or worse. That way, you can talk to your doctor about what’s happening to you. You and your doctor can decide what treatment is best for you.
Diagnosis
A person with sclerosis may have symptoms like difficulty moving, vision problems, or loss of sensation. This is because damage to the sheath that protects nerve cells can interfere with signals that go to and from the brain. MS is a disease of the central nervous system, and it’s referred to as multiple sclerosis because scars — or lesions — happen in more than one place in the brain and spinal cord. The disease can be unpredictable. People with MS can have flare-ups, or attacks, that can last a few days or weeks. They can also have more gradual progression of their symptoms, known as secondary-progressive MS.
There is no cure for either type of sclerosis. But treatment can help manage the condition and reduce symptoms. This includes physical and occupational therapy, medicine, and other treatments. It’s important for people with MS or SS to work closely with their health care team to monitor their condition and discuss their symptoms.
The diagnosis for both diseases involves a process of exclusion, meaning that doctors must rule out other conditions before making a final diagnosis. For a diagnosis of sclerosis, a doctor must see evidence of damage to the brain or spinal cord in two different places at least a month apart. MRI scans and cerebrospinal fluid analysis can help speed up the diagnosis process.
Both SS and MS are autoimmune disorders, meaning the body’s natural immune system mistakenly attacks the brain and spinal cord. However, the two conditions differ in how they affect the body. MS impacts the central nervous system, while SS can impact the skin or internal organs.
For example, some people with SS may have a symptom called trigeminal neuralgia, which causes a shooting or shock-like pain in the face. This can be caused by inflammation of the nerve in the brain stem, which controls facial sensation. Treatments for this symptom include medication, nerve block injections, and surgery. In some cases, patients with SS can also get steroid injections to help reduce inflammatory flare-ups. People with SS can also benefit from seeing a physical therapist for exercises that increase range of motion and to teach them how to use mobility aids.
Treatment
Several medications are available to treat multiple sclerosis. The medications help reduce symptoms and slow the progression of disease. Some may prevent or delay a second clinical attack (relapse) in people with relapsing-remitting MS. Others can prevent or delay a new radiographic relapse in people with clinically isolated syndrome. Some can also decrease the speed of onset and increase the length of time between attacks in people with relapsing-remitting or secondary progressive MS.
Sclerosis is a medical condition that results when your body’s immune system attacks parts of your central nervous system. Specifically, your immune system destroys the fatty sheath that wraps and protects nerve fibers in your brain and spinal cord. This disrupts communication between your brain and the rest of your body, causing a variety of symptoms.
You can be diagnosed with sclerosis by a physical exam, MRI and blood tests. The most common type of sclerosis is relapsing-remitting, which is characterized by episodes of symptoms called relapses. During a relapse, symptoms evolve over one to seven days and may be severe. If you have a relapse, your healthcare provider will prescribe treatment to reduce the severity of your symptoms.
The first treatment option for most people with relapsing-remitting sclerosis is oral medication called corticosteroids. This medication can quickly reduce nerve inflammation and shorten recovery from a relapse. It is often combined with a disease-modifying therapy (DMT).
DMTs are stronger drugs that have been shown to significantly reduce the frequency and severity of relapses. They may have more side effects than corticosteroids. However, they are considered to be safer than steroid treatments and have been shown to help reduce the overall risk of disability.
Another form of treatment involves removing and replacing your body’s damaged immune cells with your own healthy ones. This treatment is currently only available at certain medical centers in the United States. It is known as autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or AHSCT. Scientists are comparing AHSCT to the best current therapies for severe relapsing-remitting and primary progressive MS in the BEAT-MS clinical trial. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health and several pharmaceutical companies.
Prevention
Researchers worldwide are continuing to work on the cause of MS, in hopes of finding ways to prevent it. The disease occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the fatty insulation (myelin sheath) that covers nerve fibers, disrupting electrical impulses and slowing them down. This can lead to a number of symptoms, including tingling sensations, vision problems and trouble walking.
Currently, there is no cure for the condition, but it is possible to help protect yourself from developing multiple sclerosis by following a healthy lifestyle and avoiding bad habits. It is recommended to exercise regularly, drink plenty of water and follow a diet that is rich in vitamins. This can help strengthen the immune system and prevent inflammatory processes that can lead to nerve tissue inflammation.
It is also important to avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Smoking can increase inflammation and damage the nervous system, while drinking too much alcohol can make you dizzy and impair your coordination. It is best to create an action plan that can help you give up these harmful habits and replace them with positive activities.
Studies show that eating a diet high in plant-forward foods can help to reduce the risk of MS by improving gut health, controlling inflammation and reducing obesity, according to Dr. Carlson. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes can provide a variety of nutrients and dietary fiber, which feed the good bacteria in your digestive tract.
Other factors that may increase your risk of developing multiple sclerosis include genetics, certain autoimmune conditions, and viral infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which can lie dormant for years before activating and attacking the nervous system. It is also more common in females than males and people living at higher latitudes, possibly because of the increased exposure to sunlight and vitamin D.
In addition to eating a nutritious and balanced diet, it is also important to get adequate amounts of sleep and control stress levels. Stressful life events can trigger a flare-up of MS symptoms and poor sleeping habits can contribute to fatigue and weakness.
