Global News recently spoke with a woman who suffers from severe multiple sclerosis. She is a single mother who can no longer care for her two young daughters on her own. For more information on what multiple sclerosis is, Global News put together this fact sheet.
What is multiple sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system which is composed of the brain and spinal cord. The disease attacks the myelin which is a protective covering wrapped around the nerves of the central nervous system.
Who does it effect?
While it is most often diagnosed in young adults, aged 15 to 40, we know that it affects children, some as young as two years old. The impact is felt by family, friends and by the community. MS is unpredictable, affecting vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility. Its effects are physical, emotional, financial, and last a lifetime.
How is MS diagnosed?
By definition, a diagnosis of MS must include evidence of disease activity separated in time and space. Sometimes this means that it can take a little while for a diagnosis to be confirmed. When diagnosing MS, doctors are looking for evidence of the lesions in the central nervous system caused by MS. Sometimes these lesions cause symptoms and the doctor can determine the location of the lesion by the symptoms it is presenting on physical examination. Sometimes lesions occur but don’t cause symptoms, and doctors use MRI and evoked potential testing to determine their location. MRI can also be helpful in showing lesions that have developed at different times.
What are the symptoms of MS?
Symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary greatly from person to person and from time to time in the same person.
Symptoms include but are not limited to:
Balance problems or dizziness
Bladder dysfunction
Bowel Constipation, Diarrhea and Incontinence
Depression
Dysarthria, or difficulty speaking
Fatigue and Fatigability
Gait (difficulty in walking)
Hormonal Influences for women with MS
Incoordination
L’hermitte’s (Electric shock sensation radiating down spine with neck flexion)
Sensory Impairment, Numbness / Tingling
Spasms
Tremor
Is there a cure?
There is no cure for MS however, there are medications that can help.
MS medications can be divided into several categories. The first group of medications (disease modifying therapies) are drugs that impact the underlying disease. These drugs are also called immunomodulatory therapies and generally work by targeting some aspect of the inflammatory process of MS, with an aim of preventing inflammation which causes relapses.
Second, there are medications (steroids) that help to decrease the severity and duration of MS relapses. A relapse is caused by an area of acute inflammation in the central nervous system and steroids work to actively suppress inflammation. Steroids are powerful medications with a variety of side effects if taken long term and so they are used over the short term to improve relapse symptoms and speed healing.
Finally, there are medications that help ease many MS related symptoms. Many medications come into this category. There are medications to help fatigue, spasticity and pain.
In addition to medications, living a healthy lifestyle will help to maximize your sense of well being. A balanced diet, adequate rest, and some form of regular exercise are all ways of equipping your body with what it needs to help you feel your best.
Facts about MS:
Canadians have one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world.
MS is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in Canada.
Every day, three more people in Canada are diagnosed with MS.
Women are more than three times as likely to develop MS as men.
MS was first identified and described by a French neurologist, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, in 1868.
Information provided by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
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