Future for MS Patients

Multiple Sclerosis The author of this report has been asked to write up a summary of multiple sclerosis. The subjects that will be talked about will include the definition, the methods of diagnosis, the symptoms of the disorder, the complications of the disorder, the treatments for the disorder, the methods of prevention (if any) and the directions of future research. While multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence by any means, it can still be a debilitating disease and it affects a good number of people.

As explained by the WebMD website, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disorder that affects the brain and the spinal cord. The major symptoms of multiple sclerosis include weakness, tingling, numbness and blurred vision. Other signs and symptoms that can point to multiple sclerosis include muscle stiffness, urinary issues, thinking problems and so forth. There are treatments that exist for the relieving of multiple sclerosis symptoms and/or that delay the progression of the disease (WebMD, 2015).

The symptoms of multiple sclerosis often manifest between the ages of twenty an forty years old. Some symptoms come and go for people while other symptoms are persistent and chronic. The WebMD website notes that while the symptoms can be problematic and persistent, the symptoms need not take over one's life. The earlier symptoms of multiple sclerosis include blurred or double vision, thinking problems, overall clumsiness or overall coordination problems, numbness, tingling and/or weakness in the arm or leg.

It is noted that no two people with multiple sclerosis have the same overall symptoms as it manifests different in different patients (WebMD, 2015). The overall common symptoms of multiple sclerosis include unusual sensations, bladder issues, trouble walking, dizziness and fatigue. When it comes to unusual senstations, this refers to the common "pins and needles" sensation that multiple sclerosis patients feel. When it comes to bladder problems, this is a common issue discovered and felt by many multiple sclerosis patients as it happens in about eighty percent of patients.

Fatigue occurs at about the same rate (WebMD, 2015). The primary symptoms mentioned above come from damage to the protective sheath around the nerves in a person's spine or brain. The damage causes scarring and this makes it harder for signals to travel between the brain and the rest of the body. As partially noted before, this can lead to bladder/bowel problems, loss of balance, numbness, paralysis, tingling, tremors, vision problems and/or weakness. The tremors in particular are a common manifestation of multiple sclerosis.

There are three general types of those tremors and these include postural, intention and nystagmus. The latter of those three are jumpy eye movements. Postural tremors occur when someone is sitting or standing. Intention tremors means that there is no shaking when a person is a rest but things change when a person reaches for or otherwise tries to do something (WebMD, 2015). As far as diagnosing multiple sclerosis, there is no single way that is agreed upon.

Generally, a neurological exam is undertaken and the medical procedures that might be used include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, lumbar punctures, evoked potentials and spinal taps. Generally, the diagnosis for multiple sclerosis is defined by a person being between twenty and fifty years old, the symptoms/signs involved indicate a disease of the brain, there is evidence of two or more lesions per an MRI scan, objective evidence indicates disease of the spinal cord or brain and that there is no other explanation for the symptoms and issues found.

There is no known way to prevent or cure the disease, but there are several drugs that a patient can take. These include Aubagio, Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone, Gilenya, Novantrone, Plegridy, Rebif, Tecfidera and Tysabri. All of those drugs work by suppressing or altering the functions in the nervous or immune system that lead to symptoms getting aggravated (WebMD, 2015).

When it comes to the future and the research pertaining to multiple sclerosis, the studies that can or will exist pertain to what causes the disorder, who gets it, how to prevent it and potential cures for the disorder. One new drug that is in the pipeline is Tecfidera. It was approved in March 2013 and is used mostly to prevent the replapses that MS patients typically encounter. However, there are some side.