What are three possible causes of MS?

These factors may increase your risk of developing multiple sclerosis:
  • Age. ...
  • Sex. ...
  • Family history. ...
  • Certain infections. ...
  • Race. ...
  • Climate. ...
  • Vitamin D. Having low levels of vitamin D and low exposure to sunlight is associated with a greater risk of MS .
  • Your genes.
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What are 3 MS symptoms?

Some of the most common symptoms include:
  • fatigue.
  • vision problems.
  • numbness and tingling.
  • muscle spasms, stiffness and weakness.
  • mobility problems.
  • pain.
  • problems with thinking, learning and planning.
  • depression and anxiety.
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Who is most likely to get MS?

Research has demonstrated that MS occurs in most ethnic groups, including African Americans, Asians and Hispanics/Latinos, but is most common among white people of northern European descent.
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How does MS usually start?

Numbness or Tingling

Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.
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What puts you at risk for MS?

Various environmental and lifestyle factors such as geography, vitamin D, smoking, and obesity have been shown to increase the risk of MS. Most MS patients are diagnosed between ages 20 and 50, and the disease is about three times more common in females than in males.
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What causes multiple sclerosis?



What are the early warning signs of MS?

There are lots of symptoms that MS can cause, but not everyone will experience all of them.
  • fatigue.
  • numbness and tingling.
  • loss of balance and dizziness.
  • stiffness or spasms.
  • tremor.
  • pain.
  • bladder problems.
  • bowel trouble.
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Does MS show up in blood work?

Blood Tests: Currently, there are no definitive blood tests for diagnosing MS, but they can be used to rule out other conditions that may mimic MS symptoms, including Lyme disease, collagen-vascular diseases, rare hereditary disorders and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
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How long can you have MS Before you know it?

MS is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, but it can go undetected for years. In fact, a 2021 study suggested that many people with MS experience disease symptoms several years before being officially diagnosed with the disease.
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What is the best way to detect MS?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

It's very accurate and can pinpoint the exact location and size of any inflammation, damage or scarring (lesions). MRI scans confirm a diagnosis in over 90 per cent of people with MS.
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What two parts of the body does MS affect?

In people with MS, the immune system attacks cells in the myelin, the protective sheath that surrounds nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Damage to the myelin sheath interrupts nerve signals from your brain to other parts of your body. The damage can lead to symptoms affecting your brain, spinal cord and eyes.
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Does MS cause weight gain?

MS fatigue, steroid therapy, and depression can all lead to unwanted weight in people with MS. Though these factors are not your fault, you owe it to yourself to take control of your weight. Overeating can increase MS symptoms or health conditions, such as: fatigue.
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Does MS come on suddenly?

Most symptoms develop abruptly, within hours or days. These attacks or relapses of MS typically reach their peak within a few days at most and then resolve slowly over the next several days or weeks so that a typical relapse will be symptomatic for about eight weeks from onset to recovery. Resolution is often complete.
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What are the facial symptoms of multiple sclerosis?

Usually, MS facial twitching affects one side of your face at a time. And you may notice other facial symptoms first, like numbness, tingling, weakness, or other weird sensations. “People will usually say, 'My face feels swollen, but I look in the mirror and it's not swollen,'” Stoll says.
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Does MS show up on MRI?

MRI plays a vital role in how we diagnose and monitor MS. In fact, over 90% of people have their MS diagnosis confirmed by MRI.
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What exactly does MS do to your body?

In multiple sclerosis, the protective coating on the nerve fibers (myelin) is damaged and may eventually be destroyed. Depending on where the nerve damage occurs, MS can affect vision, sensation, coordination, movement, and bladder or bowel control.
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Does MS cause hair loss?

Hair loss is also relatively commonly observed in patients with MS who receive immunosuppressive agents,3,4 which is thought to be a consequence of toxicity to the hair follicle.
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Does MS make you poop more?

Overview. Bowel dysfunction can cause a great deal of discomfort and embarrassment, and can aggravate other MS symptoms such as spasticity or bladder dysfunction. Constipation, loss of control of the bowels, and diarrhea are among the bowel problems that can occur in MS (.
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What autoimmune disease is similar to MS?

Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can mimic some of the symptoms of MS such as fatigue and joint pain.
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Is multiple sclerosis considered a disability?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes MS as a chronic illness or “impairment” that can cause disability severe enough to prevent an individual from working.
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Can an eye test tell if you have MS?

Multiple sclerosis (MS).

MS causes the immune system to attack nerve fibers and causes miscommunication between the brain and other parts of the body. When your optometrist detects optic nerve inflammation, that can indicate a diagnosis of MS.
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What doctor would diagnose MS?

Since diagnosing MS can be very difficult, it must be done by a neurologist who specializes in treating MS. As many as 10 percent of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis actually have some other condition that mimics MS.
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