How to support someone who has MS
Although relatively common, MS can easily be misunderstood. LIZ CONNOR finds out more
IF SOMEONE you know recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or MS, you may like to learn more about the condition, so you can better understand their symptoms and experiences.
More than 100,000 people in the UK have MS, and it’s the most common cause of non-traumatic neurological disability in young adults. It’s not a terminal illness but it is a lifelong condition.
And it’s not infectious or contagious.
We spoke to experts to find out how MS can impact daily life...
WHAT EXACTLY IS MS?
“MULTIPLE sclerosis, or MS, is a disease where the immune system attacks the nervous system,” says Dr Ben Turner, consultant neurologist at London Bridge Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare UK (hcahealthcare.co.uk).
‘Sclerosis’ means scarring or hardening of tiny patches of tissue, and ‘multiple’ is added because this can happen in more than one place.
“The condition affects the brain and spinal cord and so can have a wide range of symptoms, which vary from person to person,” Dr Turner adds.
“It affects women about twice as often as men, and typically starts in the second or third decade of life but can be seen at any age.
“While it is a lifelong condition that sometimes leads to serious disability, it can occasionally be mild, in which case symptoms may be treated successfully,” Dr Turner says.
“In the past decade, there’s been a development of highly effective therapies which can contain the condition, which has transformed the outcome for many individuals.”
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF MS?
THE symptoms of MS can range from numbness and tingling of different parts of the body to limb weakness, visual disturbances, balance issues, urinary issues, pain, and fatigue, says Dr Turner.
He adds that people with MS may also have trouble with learning and planning or memory, but this usually occurs later in the disease.
“Unfortunately, over time, symptoms and disability tend to accumulate, which is why it’s important to get an early diagnosis and treatment,” Dr Turner stresses.
WHAT CAUSES MS AND HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED?
ALTHOUGH it’s believed genetic and environmental factors may both play a role, the exact cause of MS is still something of a mystery to doctors. And so far there is no single test which can diagnose the condition.
However, MS is thought to cause the immune system to attack myelin, the protein covering the central nervous systems, which makes it harder for messages to get received, potentially causing problems with how a person walks, moves, eats and processes things.
“Many of the symptoms are present in other conditions too,” says Dr Turner, “which means it can be difficult to diagnose.”
Methods of diagnosis include blood tests (which can help rule out other conditions); MRI scans (which can reveal typical lesions on the spinal cord or brain); evoked potential tests (measuring electrical activity in the nervous system) and lumbar puncture (to reveal abnormal immune activity).
“There are also different types of MS, such as relapsing and remitting (RRMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS), which will determine the path of treatment,” Dr Turner adds. “For both diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, it is important to see a neurologist with a specialist interest in MS.”