Sometimes, symptoms worsen rapidly, within weeks or months. A few people will only have mild symptoms, and others will experience significant changes that lead to disability.
However, most people will experience times when symptoms worsen and then get better. Find out more about the early signs of MS here. Scientists do not really know what causes MS, but risk factors include:. Genetic factors: Susceptibility may pass down in the genes, but scientists believe an environmental trigger is also necessary for MS to develop, even in people with specific genetic features. Smoking: People who smoke appear to be more likely to develop MS.
They also tend to have more lesions and brain shrinkage than non-smokers. Other viruses that may play a role include human herpes virus type 6 HHV6 and mycoplasma pneumonia. Vitamin D deficiency: MS is more common among people who have less exposure to bright sunlight, which is necessary for the body to create vitamin D.
Some experts think that low levels of vitamin D may affect the way the immune system works. Vitamin B12 deficiency: The body uses vitamin B when it produces myelin.
A lack of this vitamin may increase the risk of neurological diseases such as MS. Previous theories have included exposure to canine distemper, physical trauma, or aspartame, an artificial sweetener, but there is no evidence to support these. How does MS affect women? Click here to find out more. No single test can confirm a diagnosis, so a doctor will use several strategies when deciding whether a person meets the criteria for a diagnosis. If the doctor diagnoses MS, they will need to identify what type it is and whether it is active or not.
The person may need more tests in the future to check for further changes. Learn more here about the tests for diagnosing MS. There is no cure for MS, but treatment is available that can slow the progression of the disease, reduce the number and severity of relapses, and relieve symptoms. Some people also use complementary and alternative therapies, but research does not always confirm the usefulness of these.
These work by changing the way the immune system functions. A doctor may give some of these by mouth, by injection, or as an infusion. How often the person needs to take them and whether they can do this at home will depend on the drug. The following DMTs currently have approval :. Current guidelines recommend a person begin using these drugs when in the early stages of MS, as there is a good chance that they can slow the progression of MS, especially if the person takes them when symptoms are not yet severe.
Some drugs are more useful at specific stages. For example, a doctor may prescribe mitoxantrone at a later, more severe stage of MS. A doctor will monitor how well a drug is working, as there may be adverse effects and the same drugs do not suit everyone.
New drug options coming onto the market are proving to be safer and more effective than some existing ones. Adverse effects of immunosuppressant drugs include a higher risk of infections. Some medications may also harm the liver. If a person notices adverse effects or if their symptoms get worse, they should seek medical advice. Other drugs are useful when a person experiences a worsening of symptoms during a flare. They will not need these drugs all the time.
These medications include corticosteroids, which reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system. They can treat an acute flare-up of symptoms in certain types of MS. Examples include Solu-Medrol methylprednisolone and Deltasone prednisone. Steroids can have adverse effects if a person uses them too often, and they are not likely to provide any long-term benefit.
MS symptoms are varied and unpredictable, depending on which part of the central nervous system is affected, and to what degree.
It is important to remember that some people may not have many symptoms at all. Symptoms may last for a short time or only occur during the short period of a relapse, depending on the affected areas and the degree of inflammation present.
The symptoms of MS can be both visible and invisible to others. They can also be unpredictable and vary from person to person and from time to time. Symptoms can also interact with each other and other co-occurring conditions or diagnoses. See your doctor or specialist MS healthcare team for investigation and diagnosis of any new symptoms, as some symptoms can be caused by other illnesses or may be indicative of a relapse. Unlike ordinary fatigue, MS fatigue usually occurs more rapidly, lasts longer and takes longer to recover from.
It can be temporary such as during a relapse, an infection or unrelated illness, or when starting some MS medications. Or it can be ongoing chronic , even after rest. MS fatigue may occur when you wake, in some cases every day, even if you have had a good night's sleep and:.
Fatigue in MS is thought to be partly caused by MS itself known as primary fatigue and partly by other factors secondary fatigue that affect people with MS, more than those without the condition. It can be useful to learn to recognise the early signs of fatigue and how it affects you. MS fatigue often results from secondary factors, such as co-existing medical conditions, poor diet, lack of fitness or sleep, medication side effects, stress, depression, hormonal changes or heat sensitivity.
Identifying any contributing factors, should help you to develop a tailored management plan. The optic eye nerve can become inflamed optic neuritis as the optic nerve is a common area where damage to the protective covering of nerves demyelination occurs.
More than half of people with MS will experience at least one issue with vision. Talk to your GP, MS nurse or neurologist as soon as possible if you:. An eye assessment can determine how much inflammation is present and inform your doctor whether special treatment is needed.
Changes in sensations such as numbness, pins and needles and tingling are common MS symptoms, related to damage to nerve covering in certain areas. These sensations can occur anywhere on the body such as the arms, legs and face. They can be mild or could interfere with your ability to use the affected part of your body, such as difficulty in writing with a pen. The new onset of sensory symptoms may be associated with a relapse and should be reported to your MS healthcare team.
Pain in MS can be primarily due to demyelination or may be due to secondary conditions, such as musculoskeletal problems resulting from altered posture or spasticity. Weakened leg muscles commonly trigger aches and pains in the back or knees, but people with MS may experience pain anywhere.
This is because the damage to neurons may make it difficult for a person to feel the urge to have a bowel movement or coordinate the muscles necessary to do so. It happens when the body has an autoimmune response, which means that the immune system overreacts and begins attacking healthy cells. MS may cause chronic inflammation, which may cause pain, damage various body structures, or increase the risk of other diseases, such as stroke or heart disease.
People do not have weakened immune systems from the disease itself. However, treatments often target the immune system to reverse the attack on neurons.
These treatments can weaken the immune system, making a person more susceptible to serious infections and disease. People with MS have a higher risk of developing circulatory system problems, such as :.
Doctors do not fully understand what causes this elevated risk, since MS does not directly affect the circulatory system. Instead, certain risk factors may endanger the heart and blood vessels. These include :. This means that circulatory system problems may be a secondary effect of MS, and that many people with the disease can lower their risk with certain lifestyle changes, such as exercising more and eating a healthy diet.
MS can directly affect the reproductive system in several ways, including:. MS does not directly damage fertility. However, sexual dysfunction may make it more difficult to get pregnant. MS can also cause secondary sexual problems if a person develops a negative body image or feels too unhealthy to have sex. A person may also develop a condition, such as diabetes, that affects sexual function. Around half of people with relapsing remitting MS will develop secondary progressive MS within 15 to 20 years, and the risk of this happening increases the longer you have the condition.
Just over 1 in 10 people with the condition start their MS with a gradual worsening of symptoms. In primary progressive MS, symptoms gradually worsen and accumulate over several years, and there are no periods of remission, though people often have periods where their condition appears to stabilise.
MS is an autoimmune condition. This is when something goes wrong with the immune system and it mistakenly attacks a healthy part of the body — in this case, the brain or spinal cord of the nervous system. In MS, the immune system attacks the layer that surrounds and protects the nerves called the myelin sheath.
This damages and scars the sheath, and potentially the underlying nerves, meaning that messages travelling along the nerves become slowed or disrupted. Exactly what causes the immune system to act in this way is unclear, but most experts think a combination of genetic and environmental factors is involved. There's currently no cure for MS, but a number of treatments can help control the condition.
The treatment you need will depend on the specific symptoms and difficulties you have. Disease-modifying therapies may also help to slow or reduce the overall worsening of disability in people with a type of MS called relapsing remitting MS, and in those with a type called secondary progressive MS who have relapses. Unfortunately, there's currently no treatment that can slow the progress of a type of MS called primary progressive MS, or secondary progressive MS in the absence of relapses.
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