Multiple Sclerosis

The most important symptom is thickened or hardened skin on the fingers, hands, forearms, or face. This symptom is found in 98% of people with scleroderma.The antinuclear antibody (ANA) test is positive in more than 95% of people with scleroderma.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is primarily treated by neurologists, who specialize in disorders of the nervous system. In managing MS, neurologists may work alongside other healthcare professionals, such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, and mental health specialists, to provide comprehensive care. They focus on diagnosing the condition, managing symptoms, and prescribing disease-modifying therapies to slow disease progression.

Some of the early symptoms of multiple sclerosis are blurred or double vision, thinking problems, clumsiness or lack of coordination, or loss of balance.

Prednisone is a steroid-based anti-inflammatory. It can be used via injection, taken orally, or in some forms, can be inhaled if needed. It essentially helps to control inflammation of body tissues.

When a person is experiencing a "relapse" (or a period of worsening MS disease condition), in many cases it is caused by swelling of a nerve. For example, optic neuritis, a very common symptom of MS, is caused by inflammation of the optic nerve.

Prednisone is thought to control the swelling of the nerve fibers and therefore reduce the duration of the symptoms. However, studies have shown that in some cases, treatment with prednisone did not appreciably reduce the severity or duration of the relapse.

Additionally, prednisone is a symptomatic treatment. It treats the symptoms of the disease. It does nothing to affect the overall disease course. There are other FDA-approved medications that can reduce the severity and duration of relapses, as well as slowing the progression of the disease, like Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone, Rebif, and Tysabri.

Muscle strength is definitely affected by Multiple Sclerosis. The primary problem in MS is that neurons are damaged when the myelin sheath is destroyed by the immune system. Nerves transmit signals less effectively through those areas of demyelination, thus the intended strength of a muscle movement may not be directly translated to the muscle. In that way, muscle strength is affected by the disease.

Muscle strength is also affected as a side-effect to another very common MS symptom: fatigue. Also known as "MS Lassitude," fatigue can cause inactivity in people who experience it. This inactivity can, in turn, cause muscle atrophy and muscle weakness. While this is not a direct effect of the disease, it is a very common side-effect, or "secondary symptom," which is a complication that can arise from a primary symptom. Muscle atrophy can also be caused by a lack of movement due to balance or gait issues as well as dizziness (vertigo), all primary symptoms of MS.

Yes, because it can find lesions on the brain.

The symptoms of MS are slurred speach, loss of balance, bladder and bowel problems, vision disturbance, short-term memory loss, extreme fatigue, stiffness of muscles and problems with coordination. Not all occur.

No. Multiple sclerosis affects the central nervous system, it does not affect the peripheral nervous system, nor does it affect the autonomic nervous system. Thus, heart function is unaffected by MS.

Heart function is definitely affected by MS. There are BP changes [orthotstatic hypotension] Heart Rate changes and ECG variations are noted in PWMS [persons with MS] the Autonomic Nervous system is very much influenced: bladder/blower problems, sexual dysfunction, GI disturbances,olfactory loss, Dysfunction of the ANS causes significant decline in performance in MS persons.

no

One contraindication is warm water immersion (e.g. hot tub or extended hydrotherapy in a warm pool) or extensive hot packs - anything that may raise the patient's core temperature - as this will lead to extreme fatigue.

Patron saints against neurological or nerve diseases are St. Bartholomew the Apostle and St. Dymphna. There is no particular patron for those who suffer from Parkinsons. However, Pope John Paul II suffered from it and would be a perfect person to pray to even though he is not yet canonized and not a patron saint.

Aids

There are definitely lots of treatments available today for MS. The latest development has been the Liberation Treatment which has been brought forth by the Italian Dr. Paolo Zamboni. Though this treatment is still being investigated for its efficacy through clinical studies, it has shown positive results in most cases. Many hospitals carry out this treatment. It is however cheaper to get treatment in countries like India, where they have expertise like that of Apollo hospitals in Chennai.

T2 is a type of MRI imaging technique in which TE and TR (Echo time and Repetition time) are longer and the image's contrast and brightness is determined specifically by T2 signals. A "hyperintense lesion" would appear as a bright white spot on a T2-weighted MRI, and its location is in the left centrum semiovale. The centrum semiovale is a large region of "white matter". It is composed of the fibers carrying information to and from the surface of the brain (cortex) to the deeper structures of the brain and to the spinal cord.

T2 FLAIR Hyperintensity is when hyperintensity is seen via FLAIR (Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery) during the T2, or spin-spin, relaxation cycle. This process helps nullify natural fluid signals in the body to find plaques and lesions in the brain. Hyperintensity describes areas of high intensity in the brain during an MRI.

multiple sclerosis may be the body's delayed immune reaction to viruses such as measles, Herpes simplex, rubella, and parainfluenza.

Unfortunately, Multiple Sclerosis does not really have a cure. However, there have been constant advancements in treatments and a lot is being invested in research. A recent development has been the Liberation Treatment, which is still being investigated for its efficacy through clinical studies. It has shown positive results; much to the satisfaction of many patients. They feel their energy returning and are able to do a lot more things than they used to.

There are many hospitals around the world that offer this treatment. I've heard India is a good destination for this treatment. There are quite a few including Apollo Hospitals in the city of Chennai that offer Liberation Treatment.

MS patients who are exposed to heat see a temporary worsening of their symptoms; removal from the heat causes the symptoms to subside.

Before MRIs were being used to more conclusively diagnose MS, doctors would sometimes place patients in a hot tub: if their symptoms got worse, and then subsided following removal from the tub, doctors would suspect MS as the cause.

It is important to note that the temporary worsening of symptoms caused by heat does not affect disease progression and does not cause earlier onset of disease progression.

Multiple Sclerosis typically presents its first symptoms between the ages of 20 and 50. MS has been known to present in young children (Pediatric MS) and in significantly older adults.

One has about a 13% chance of developing MS symptoms prior to age 20, but once an adult crosses age 50, the likelihood of developing MS drops to about 7%. Studies have shown that 2 to 5% of people diagnosed with MS had symptoms of the disease while they were still children (younger than 18).

The myelin sheeth helps keep signals (like electrical impulses) within the axon so that they can get to the cell body (of the neuron). This is necessary for muscles to contract (to move). If myelin is lost the signal or "electrical impulse" is less and less which has an affect on muscle function because there isn't enough signal to stimulate or "tell" the muslce to move.

Multiple sclerosis is not a "deadly" or "lethal" disease. It does not kill a person like, say, stage 4 inoperable breast or colon cancer. But it can become very aggressive and debilitating at any time. I have MS and saw your question and I hope this effectively answers it. Although MS pt's don't usually die from the disease itself there is a much higher rate of suicide due to physical and mental toll this disease takes on the patient, much higher than the general public.

I think worms,remember insects are animals! The number of aortic arches (hearts) varies for specie to specie. The common earth worm has 5 'hearts'!

It is proposed that multiple sclerosis may be transmitted chiefly by sexual contact. Arguments favoring this include: migration studies that suggest a transmissible agent in adolescence; clusters of multiple sclerosis which have occurred in low prevalence areas following entry of young males; the similarity of multiple sclerosis to tropical spastic paraplegia, a known sexually transmitted infection with resemblance to primary progressive multiple sclerosis; an increased rate in drug misusers; a similar age of onset and sex pattern to that found in sexually transmitted disease; increased incidence of multiple sclerosis in those using oral contraceptives; low multiple sclerosis rates in societies with a strict moral code; longitudinal shifts in sex prevalence that show an increase in women after the sexual revolution of the 1960s; and important exceptions to the worldwide distribution corresponding to countries with permissive attitudes to sex. Family, conjugal pair, twin, and adoption studies are compatible with an infectious cause of multiple sclerosis if this is sexually transmitted. It is not proposed that sexual transmission is the only cause but that inherited factors create a susceptibility to a sexually transmitted neurotropic agent. It is hoped this hypothesis might encourage a new direction of neurological research.

Yes. Massage therapy is helpful in relieving muscle tension associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) and it also helps to promote nerve function as well. Massage therapy can also improve spasticity and muscle stiffness.