WHAT IS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS?
Multiple sclerosis, a disease of the brain and spinal cord, is a chronic, typically progressive disease involving damage to myelin or the protective sheath covering nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
The loss of this covering causes messages traveling along affected nerves to slow or stop. This results in MS symptoms. Unfortunately, there is no cure for MS. But there are many treatments, and many people with MS can manage their symptoms and lead active, healthy lives. Read on to learn more about MS and its treatments.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS FOR MS?
The cause of MS is unknown. But most research suggests that MS is an immune-mediated disease.
This means the body’s immune system is activated by some unknown agent that leads it to attack and destroy myelin by mistake. MS most often begins in adults between the ages of 20 and 40. It happens in women more often than men. It also is more likely to occur if a person has a family history of MS. Smoking does not cause MS, but can make it worse.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF MS?
There are three main types of MS. These are:
- Relapsing-Remitting: This type of MS is the most common. It is marked by isolated episodes of symptoms (also called attacks or flare-ups). Periods of partial or complete recovery follow these episodes. Each attack may be worse than the one before it.
- Primary-Progressive: This type of MS is marked by a slow onset of symptoms that gradually worsen over time. There are no periods of recovery.
- Secondary-progressive: This type of MS begins as relapsing-remitting MS. After a period of stability, the disease steadily worsens. About half the patients with relapsing-remitting MS have secondary-progressive MS within 10 years of their first attack. About all of them have it within 25 years.
- Progressive-Relapsing: This type of MS includes both slowly progressive symptoms and episodic flare-ups together.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF MS?
The symptoms of MS vary from person to person. The type of symptoms a person has depends on the location and extent of damage to the nerves within the brain and spinal cord. A person can also have different symptoms during the course of the disease. Symptoms can include:
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Numbness, tingling, or loss of sensation
- Pain
- Muscle spasms or weakness in the arms, legs, or both
- Vision problems, such as rapid eye movements, double vision, or vision loss
- Balance and coordination problems
- Problems walking or moving the arms, legs, or both
- Bowel and bladder control problems
- Problems with sexual function
- Dizziness
- Trouble concentrating, focusing, or remembering things
- Trouble reasoning and solving problems
- Trouble speaking or swallowing
- Depression
HOW IS MS DIAGNOSED?
MS can be hard to diagnose. A diagnosis of MS is not made unless a person has had at least two or more separate episodes of MS symptoms. To confirm a diagnosis of MS, your doctor will take a detailed history of symptoms. Your doctor will also perform a neurologic exam to check your muscle strength, balance, coordination, and reflexes. Skills such as thinking, memory, vision, hearing, and talking are also checked. In addition, healthcare providers may also give you the following tests:
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan: This test provides detailed pictures of the brain and spinal cord. It helps check for areas of damaged nerves, which are often referred to as lesions or plaques.
- Evoked Potentials: These tests check how fast and well your body’s nerves respond to specific types of sensory stimulation, such as flashing lights, loud sounds, or little electric shocks.
- Spinal Tap: This test checks the health of the fluid around your brain and spinal cord for signs of nerve sheath damage.
- Blood Tests: Help rule out other causes of the symptoms.
HOW IS MS TREATED?
The goal of treatment is to manage your symptoms and to slow the rate at which the disease worsens. You can manage your symptoms through medication.
Some medicines help keep your body’s immune system from attacking the myelin. This may reduce the frequency and severity of attacks. Other medicines help control symptoms or relieve pain when attacks happen.
Researchers are exploring new treatments for MS. Many of these are in clinical trials. This means they are being tested for safety and effectiveness.
WHY KIMS?
KIMS, one of the best neurology hospitals in Hyderabad, has provided unparalleled, holistic care to patients of all ages living with multiple sclerosis. Patients come to KIMS for its clinical excellence, personalized patient care and innovative clinical research.
Our highly experienced, multidisciplinary team of neuro doctors in Hyderabad and experts provide a full spectrum of services tailored to the unique medical and emotional needs of MS patients. These services include advanced diagnostics, novel treatment strategies, and psychosocial, rehabilitative and supportive care, making KIMS one of the most trusted Multiple Sclerosis treatment hospitals in Hyderabad.