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5 Things You Must Know About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the nervous system which affects the brain and spinal cord, and progresses to physical and cognitive disability. Although most people do not get severely disabled, more than half of them experience spasticity that can complicate daily activities. Following are listed 5 things you must know about Multiple Sclerosis, to get a deeper insight on the topic-

1. Multiple Sclerosis is the most common progressive and disabling neurological disorder among youth- Approximately 2.5 million people worldwide suffer from this silent killer disease. Average age of clinical onset of this disease is 30-33 years, which is generally diagnosed at the age of 37 or more. The symptoms may vary from mild to severe manifestations, chronic or of short-time duration or may be transient in nature. There are four subtypes of Multiple Sclerosis, namely- Relapsing-Remitting type, Primary- Progressive type, Secondary- Progressive type and Progressive- Relapsing type Multiple Sclerosis. Around 40% of the patients suffer from the 1st type. The common symptoms being- muscle spasms, hypoesthesia, paresthesia, dysphagia, ataxia, optic neuritis, depression, fatigue, bladder and bowel difficulties, leading to severe episodes of Uhthoff's phenomena and Lhermitte's signs. A patient with this disease is expected to live upto average population life expectancy minus seven years.

2. The cause of Multiple Sclerosis is yet to be proved- Multiple Sclerosis was first diagnosed in 1849. The disease occurs as a result of combination of genetic, vascular, environmental and infectious factors. But no virus or bacteria has been ever isolated to cause this disorder. Symptoms result when myelin gets destroyed by inflammation and is replaced by hard sclerotic patches. Many theories have been suggested based on epidemiological studies of Multiple Sclerosis, but none has proved definitive. Human herpes virus and Varicella zoster virus have been linked to Multiple Sclerosis.

3. Multiple Sclerosis is an auto-immune disease- This means that the immune system of the body turns against itself. When triggered by infective agents and virus, it destroys its very own myelin tissues, rather than attacking virus, forming scars and plaques. The damaged myelin cells disurpt the conduction of electric nerve impluses to and from the brain, resulting into progression of the disease called Multiple Sclerosis .

4. Risk factors involved - Multiple Sclerosis is five times more prevalant in temperate zones than in tropical climates. It is commonly seen in Caucasians than other races. Multiple Sclerosis affects women more frequently than men, the ratio varies from 1.7- 2 :1 or even more. This disease is also seen more in whites compared to blacks. Native Indians of America, Japanese and Asians show a very low incidence rate of Multiple Sclerosis. Gypsies and eskimos rarely show any occurance. The rate of contracting Multiple Sclerosis in identical twins, where one develops this disease is 30%, whereas in non-identical twins only 4%. The risk of contracting Multiple Sclerosis from a mother is twice than that from a father.

5. Management of Multiple Sclerosis - Although there is no cure to the disease, several therapies have proved to be beneficial. Rehabilitation, oral medications, injections, immuno-suppressants, neuro and orthopedic surgeries are done for treating this disorder. The main aim of these therapies is to normalise and return body functions after the attack, prevent further attacks and disability. Now-a-days, Medtronic ITB (Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy) are used successfully to treat severe degrees of spasticity.