Baton Rouge Clinic Health Library

Fighting Multiple Sclerosis

     Published: 03, 2004

Multiple Sclerosis, or MS as the disease is commonly called, affects about 350,000 individuals in the United States. Approximately twice as many women as men have the disease and it can strike at any age, but most commonly people start showing symptoms of the disease between the ages of 20 to 40.

MS is a neurological disease that causes inflammation and destruction of myelin, the coating around nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The selfdirected attack by the immune system against the myelin results in neurological dysfunction. The symptoms of MS depend on where the attacks occur within the brain and spinal cord.

The cause of MS is not yet known; however, a number of clues now indicate the disorder is probably due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Common symptoms of MS include weakness, numbness, poor coordination, double vision, clumsiness, difficulty walking, loss of vision, and bladder problems. Patients with MS typically begin with what is called a ‘relapsing remitting’ course. Initially, people with MS experience attacks that last for weeks to months, then their symptoms resolve. Over the years, these separate attacks often leave increasing amounts of permanent disability. Eventually, in about half of MS patients, the disease assumes a steadily progressive deterioration.

MS is a chronic neurological disorder that is like an uninvited guest. At first, when you are diagnosed, it feels like someone totally unexpected showing up at your house. You are too shocked to know what to do or how to react.

Patients try to behave as if everything was perfectly normal and that MS is not an intrusion on their life at all. When it becomes apparent that this uninvited guest won’t leave, they get angry. Finally, they must accept the inevitable and decide to do whatever is possible to improve and help their situation.

Although today’s technology has provided more tools to detect and fight this disease than even a decade ago, no one test is specific for diagnosing MS. “Only a neurologist should actually diagnose this disease since a number of other disorders can imitate MS. The diagnosis of MS is based on the patient’s symptoms, their medical history, findings on the neurological examination, an MRI scan, and at times, other tests, including studies of the patient’s spinal fluid.

One of the more difficult aspects of MS, especially for patients, is that someone with MS can look perfectly healthy. Friends, family members, and co-workers often have difficulty appreciating how many symptoms and how much difficulty an MS patient is experiencing since they “look so good.” Also, MS is unpredictable and variable, as patients can be almost symptom free one week and disabled the next.

In the past ten years, medical science has made significant advances in the treatment of MS. Today, we can offer almost every patient with MS some type of treatment that will improve the course of their disease or the quality of their life.

Currently, patients with relapsing remitting MS will often benefit from treatment with one of the “disease modifying drugs” that are available. Each is given to the patient by an injection. These medications improve the longterm course of MS by reducing the number and severity of attacks, reducing the evidence of new inflammation on MRI scans, and reducing the overall disability of the disease.

Medications are also available to treat specific symptoms or problems caused by MS. Difficulty with bladder control, pain, stiffness, and fatigue often respond to appropriate medications, as does depression, another common occurrence in MS patients.

“The future holds great promise for patients with MS.” Although a cure for MS is not on the immediate horizon, we have an increasing arsenal of medications and treatments to improve and prolong the lives of patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

The Baton Rouge Clinic, AMC, offers this information as a courtesy service. Please remember that medical knowledge is always evolving and we cannot represent that any of our information is absolutely current. Please consult a physician before taking any medical action based on information gathered from this or any website.