March is Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness month. MS is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).
In this disease, the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body. Eventually, the disease can cause permanent damage of the nerves.
Symptoms of MS vary widely and depend on the amount of nerve damage and which nerves are affected. Some people with severe MS may lose the ability to walk, while others may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms.
Currently, There is no cure for multiple sclerosis. However, treatments can help speed recovery from attacks, modify the course of the disease, and manage symptoms.
Multiple Sclerosis: Symptoms
Multiple sclerosis symptoms can differ from person to person and over the course of the disease. It all depends on the location of affected nerve fibers. This disease affects movements in the following ways:
- Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs — on one side of your body at a time, or the legs and trunk
- Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain neck movements, especially bending the neck forward
- Tremor, lack of coordination or unsteady walking
In addition, the patient may also suffer from vision problems, such as:
- Partial or complete loss of vision, usually in one eye at a time, often with pain during eye movement
- Prolonged double vision
- Blurry vision
Other symptoms include:
- Slurred speech
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Tingling or pain in parts of your body
- Problems bowel and bladder function
See a doctor if you experience any of the above symptoms for unknown reasons.
Multiple Sclerosis: Disease Course
The worsening of symptoms usually includes problems with mobility and gait. The rate of disease progression varies greatly among people with secondary-progressive MS.
Multiple Sclerosis: Causes
The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown at this time. It’s considered an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues. The attack destroys the fatty substance that coats and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord (myelin).
Myelin can be compared to the insulation coating on electrical wires. When the protective myelin is damaged and nerve fiber is exposed, the messages that travel along that nerve can be slowed or blocked. The nerve may also become damaged itself.
At this time, scientists believe that MS develops through a combination of genetics and environmental factors.
What Are Your Risk Factors?
These factors may increase your risk of developing multiple sclerosis:
- Age. MS can occur at any age, but usually affects people somewhere between the ages of 16 and 55.
- Sex. Women are more than two to three times as likely as men are to have relapsing-remitting MS.
- Family history. If one of your parents or siblings has had MS, you are at higher risk of developing the disease.
- Certain infections. A variety of viruses have been linked to MS, including Epstein-Barr, the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis.
- Race. White people, particularly those of Northern European descent, are at highest risk of developing MS. People of Asian, African or Native American descent have the lowest risk.
- Climate. MS is far more common in countries with temperate climates, including Canada, the northern United States, New Zealand, southeastern Australia and Europe.
- Vitamin D. Having low levels of vitamin D and low exposure to sunlight is associated with a greater risk of MS.
- Certain autoimmune diseases. You have a slightly higher risk of developing MS if you have thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
- Smoking. Smokers who experience an initial event of symptoms that may signal MS are more likely than nonsmokers to develop a second event that confirms relapsing-remitting MS.