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MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)

A nervous system disease that affects your brain and spinal cord. It damages the myelin sheath, the material that surrounds and protects your nerve cells. This damage slows down or blocks messages between your brain and your body, leading to the symptoms of MS. They can include

• Visual disturbances
• Muscle weakness
• Trouble with coordination and balance
• Sensations such as numbness, prickling, or "pins and needles"
• Thinking and memory problems

Multiple sclerosis affects women more than men. Usually, the disease is mild, but some people
lose the ability to write, speak or walk.

What are the symptoms of multiple sclerosis?

Symptoms of multiple sclerosis may be single or multiple and may range from mild to severe in intensity and short to long in duration. Complete or partial remission from symptoms occurs early in about 70% of individuals with multiple sclerosis.

• Visual disturbances may be the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis, but they usually subside. A person may notice a patch of blurred vision, red-to-orange or red-to-gray distortions (color desaturation), or monocular visual loss

• Limb weakness with or without difficulties with coordination and balance may occur early.

• Muscle spasms, fatigue, numbness, and prickling pain are common symptoms.

• There may be a loss of sensation, speech impediment (typically a problem articulating words), tremors, or dizziness.

• decreased concentration,

• attention deficits,

• some degree of memory loss,

• inability to perform sequential tasks, or

• impairment in judgment.

• depression,

• manic depression,

• paranoia, or

• an uncontrollable urge to laugh and weep.

 

 

 



 
           

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