The nerve disorder multiple sclerosis brings several unfortunate side effects, from depression to bladder control problems. But MS help is available. Learn how to treat these MS symptoms and live a more fulfilling life...
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system. An overactive immune system causes inflammation, which damages or destroys myelin, the fatty sheath that insulates nerves.
When that happens, "nerves can't talk to each other – they can't exchange signals from one neuron to the next," explains Rodrigo Rodriguez Jr., M.D., a neurologist with Kaiser Permanente's Bellflower Medical Center near Los Angeles.
As a result, MS patients may face a long list of nerve-related symptoms: pain or numbness, mobility problems, bladder dysfunction, vision changes, cognitive and emotional issues, dizziness and fatigue.
MS affects about 400,000 people in the U.S., and most are women, according to the National MS Society[1]. The average patient is diagnosed in her 30s or 40s, Dr. Rodriguez says.
The condition is incurable, but the sooner drug therapy treatment begins, the better a patient will do over time, he notes.
The most commonly used medications for MS, known as disease-modifying agents, help "control the degree of inflammation and the rate of inflammatory attacks," he says. "If these first-line agents don't work, there are other medications that may be more aggressive in controlling inflammation."
References
- ^ National MS Society (nationalmssociety.org)
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