What organ does MS affect?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).

What part of the body does MS affect first?

Vision problems

In around 1 in 4 cases of MS, the first noticeable symptom is a problem with one of your eyes (optic neuritis). You may experience: some temporary loss of vision in the affected eye, usually lasting for days to weeks.

What is the number one symptom of MS?

Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.

How does MS affect other body systems?

MS may cause chronic inflammation, which may cause pain, damage various body structures, or increase the risk of other diseases, such as stroke or heart disease. People do not have weakened immune systems from the disease itself. However, treatments often target the immune system to reverse the attack on neurons.

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).

How Multiple Sclerosis Affects The Body - Yale Medicine Explains

What triggers MS?

Multiple sclerosis is caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking the brain and nerves. It's not clear why this happens but it may be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

At what age does MS usually show up?

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) tend to have their first symptoms between the ages of 20 and 40. Usually the symptoms get better, but then they come back. Some come and go, while others linger. No two people have exactly the same symptoms.

Where does MS pain usually start?

These types of pain can happen anywhere on your body but are usually in the face, arms and legs. This type of nerve pain can present itself as: extreme sensitivity to touch. pins and needles.

Does MS mess with your stomach?

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 (. pdf).

What disease mimics MS?

These include fibromyalgia and vitamin B12 deficiency, muscular dystrophy (MD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), migraine, hypo-thyroidism, hypertension, Beçhets, Arnold-Chiari deformity, and mitochondrial disorders, although your neurologist can usually rule them out quite easily.

What can mimic multiple sclerosis?

There are also multiple infectious entities that mimic MS including; progressive multi-focal leukoencephalopathy (PML), Toxoplasmosis, Tuberculosis, Herpes Simplex Virus, Cytomegalovirus, Varicella zoster virus, Epstein Barr virus, Cryptococcus and Human immunodeficiency virus.

What is the most common pattern of MS attacks?

One of these, the most common form, was relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). Relapsing-remitting MS is defined as MS in which patients have relapses of MS and periods of stability in between relapses. Relapses are episodes of new or worsening symptoms not caused by fever or infection and that last more than 48 hours.

What causes MS symptoms to worsen?

What causes exacerbations? Exacerbations (relapses) are caused by inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS). The inflammation damages the myelin, slowing or disrupting the transmission of nerve impulses and causing the symptoms of MS.

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.

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.

How do you confirm MS diagnosis?

What are the red flag signs of MS?

What does mild MS feel like?

Numbness or Tingling

A lack of feeling or a pins-and-needles sensation can be the first sign of the nerve damage from MS. It usually happens in the face, arms, or legs, and on one side of the body. It also tends to go away on its own.

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.

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.

What foods cause MS flare ups?

What vitamins should you avoid with MS?

High doses of other vitamins can antagonize your immune-modulating, immunosuppressive therapies used to manage MS. Supplements that stimulate the immune system should be avoided in high doses. Those include selenium, zinc, B1, B2, folic acid, B6, vitamin A, biotin, magnesium, copper, and manganese.

What are four common diagnostic tests for MS?

A comprehensive patient medical history and neurological exam. Magnetic resonance imaging of the neuroaxis. Evoked Potentials testing. Analysis of the spinal fluid.