Nearly a quarter of all patients with MS initially develop visual disturbances or blindness. Some evidence links MS to hypovitaminosis of vitamin D. The cause of the disease is unknown although much evidence suggests that T lymphocytes that injure nerve cells and nerve sheaths play an important role, that is, that the disease has an autoimmune basis. Within 25 years of the first symptoms, half of these patients cannot walk.
Synonym: insular sclerosisĪbout half of all patients with MS become unable to work within 10 to 15 years of the first onset of symptoms. In patients who achieve only partial restoration of neurological function, secondary progression of the disease may result in a gradual accumulation of visual, motor, or sensory disabilities. In patients with these disorders, neurological deficits develop and then improve either completely or partially. More common than either of these types of MS are the two relapsing-remitting variants. The primary progressive variant is marked by rapid loss of neurological functions that do not resolve, causing severe functional impairments that worsen over time. The benign variant is marked by several episodes of nervous system dysfunction, followed by complete recovery. Four main categories of MS are currently recognized. Multiple sclerosis usually begins between ages 20 and 40 women are twice as likely to have the disease as men, and European-Americans are more likely to be affected than African-Americans or Asian-Americans. Multiple sclerosis is a relatively common disorder: more than 400,000 Americans are affected, of whom the majority (about 390,000) are adults.
The clinical picture in MS depends upon the extent of demyelination. This results in temporary, repetitive, or sustained disruptions in nerve impulse conduction, causing symptoms such as muscular weakness, loss of coordination, numbness, visual disturbances, loss of control of bowel, bladder, and sexual functions. MS Abbreviation for:Ī chronic disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in which there is destruction of myelin within several regions of the brain and spinal cord at different times. The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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