Sex
- Primarily a disease of young women
- twice as common in women as it is in men
Genetic predisposition
Prevention
There is no prevention
- Intellectual impairment
- fatigue
- pain
- loss of vision
- double vision
- speech & difficulty swallowing
- emotional changes
- sexual changes
- stiffness
- imbalance
- problems with bladder, bowel control
- weakness
Symptoms
Genetic
Family History
- If a family member has MS, you have a higher chance to also have MS
Risk Factors
An autoimmune disease where your body attacks your central nervous system resulting in inflammation on the myelin creating scars. In turn creates numerous neurologic defects, including progressive muscle weakness.
Long Term Effects
- relapses
- increase fatigue
- increase pain
- loss of vision(permanent)
- Bladder malfunctions
- Loss of ability to use limbs
- Death
Environmental
Location
- Caucasians in Nothern Europe & with Northern Europe descent. Ex. Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand
Multiple Sclerosis
Diet
Treatment/medication
- No cure
- Corticosteroids(side effects)
- Modafinil( sleeping disorders)
- Amantadine( increase dopamine)
- Baclofen(pain medication)
- Marijuana
- deals with the symptoms
Diagnosis
Benign MS
- remission after relapses is almost complete
- Minimal disability, only affected the senses of sight &/or touch
- decreases with time
- VEP (visual evoked potential)
- Spinal tap examination
- MRI (magentic resonating image)
- CT scan (computed tomography)
- Babinski reflex
- Vibration sense
- Eye examination
- Coordination test
- Lhermittle's sign
Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS)
- attacks of symptoms are followed by complete/partial improvements
Clinical Categories
Clinically isolated syndrome
- earliest form of MS
- single attack of symptoms
- often multiple lesions are seen on the brain MRI
Conditions that maybe confused with MS
Progressive MS (PMS)
- disability slowly & continuously increasing, with/or without relapses
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Lyme disease
- AIDS
- Stroke
- Sarcoidosis
- Lymphoma
- Systemic lupus erythmatosis
Primary Progressive MS (PPMS)
- slowly increasing right from the start of the disease
- appears in people in their 40's & is the only form of MS that affects men and women equally
Secondary Progressive MS (SPMS)
- Becomes progressive after initial relapsing-remitting phase
- Eventually most people with relapsing-remitting MS, develop secondary progressive MS
Progressive-relapsing MS (PRMS)
- relapse occurs during a course that is progressive from the onset of the disease.
- rare type