![]() These attacks can damage the myelin sheath, a process called demyelination. When the inflammation goes away, it can leave behind scarring of the myelin sheath (known as sclerosis). It can slow them down, or even stop them from getting through completely. This can disrupt the messages travelling along nerve fibres. The myelin becomes inflamed in patches (called plaques or lesions), which can be seen on an MRI scan. ![]() This means your immune system mistakes the myelin for a foreign substance and attacks it. This disrupts the transfer of these nerve signals, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, such as loss of vision, uncontrolled muscle movements, difficulties with balance and co-ordination, and fatigue. ![]() One last item for the check list would be a confirmation that no other medical condition could be responsible for the symptoms.Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of symptoms including problems with muscle movement, balance and vision.Įach nerve fibre in the brain and spinal cord is surrounded by a layer of protein called myelin, which protects the nerve and helps electrical signals from the brain travel to the rest of the body. Yet another item on the checklist is an MRI scan to confirm the existence of 2 or more lesions on the nervous tissue. You should also check to see that you have experienced at least 2 episodes lasting 24 hours or more with at least one month between them. While this is not universal to all MS patients, it is generally the case that MS symptoms first emerge between the ages of 20 and 50 years. It is important to also note the age at which your symptoms started to appear. A third item on the checklist is to have the doctor do some tests to confirm that you do indeed have nervous system dysfunction. If they are consistent with damage to the brain or spinal cord, then you just might have multiple sclerosis. Ideally, this doctor should have considerable experience diagnosing and treating MS in other patients.Īnother item on the checklist is a note of the nature of your symptoms. One item on this multiple sclerosis checklist is an effort on the part of your doctor to document your medical history, including your symptoms. Rather, it is a checklist of steps that you should take en route to determining your MS status. It is, however, possible to make a rudimentary multiple sclerosis checklist. Thus, one cannot make a simple multiple sclerosis symptoms checklist and expect every potential multiple sclerosis patient to meet the limited criteria on that multiple sclerosis checklist of symptoms. One or more of these symptoms, in any possible combination, could be suggestive of multiple sclerosis. However, there is a wide range of symptoms that multiple sclerosis patients can develop as a result of their brain lesions. There is no definitive list of multiple sclerosis symptoms that all multiple sclerosis patients have. This process will allow the doctor to determine whether you have a cluster of symptoms that could be associated with multiple sclerosis. The steps involved in determining a positive MS diagnosis include having an experienced doctor take your medical history and examine the state of your nervous system’s function through a series of tests. A multiple sclerosis checklist can be used to outline the factors which, together, constitute a positive MS diagnosis. The process of determining whether a patient has MS is a detailed process, involving several steps.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |