MS Diagnosis First recognize symptoms

Multiple sclerosis symptoms

Multiple sclerosis diagnosis complicated by extremely different symptoms

26/05/2011

The symptoms of a multiple sclerosis disease are often misinterpreted and therefore too late or not diagnosed, experts from the German Society of Neurology (DGN) on the occasion of World MS Day.

As part of the World MS Day, experts from various institutions throughout Germany provide information on the causes, symptoms and health consequences of the chronic inflammatory disease of the nervous system, multiple sclerosis. According to data from the German Neurological Society, some 130,000 people in Germany live with MS, and every year between 2,500 and 4,000 new cases are found. However, the symptoms of MS can be extremely different and similar to those of other diseases, making the diagnosis much more difficult, reported Prof. Ralf Gold, Director of the Neurological University Clinic in Bochum and board member of the Disease-Related Competence Network Multiple Sclerosis (KKNMS). MS tags.

Multiple sclerosis can affect all parts of the brain
Multiple sclerosis usually affects relatively young people between the ages of 20 and 40, according to the experts of the DGN. The first symptoms of inflammatory nerve disease can range from mild vision problems to numbness of the head and / or weakness in the limbs, Prof. Gold emphasized. As a rule, those affected tend to seek out a specialist in the symptoms. But even if, for example, in visual disturbances, the walk to the ophthalmologist makes sense, is recommended for the MS-related impairments rather a visit to the neurologist, the neurologist warned. For a veil in front of eyes can be according to Prof. Gold also signs of inflammatory nerve disease MS. This could „in principle, infect any part of the brain, it can all be down“, emphasized Prof. Gold. As for the inflammation affecting the optic nerve, patients usually perceive this as a milky veil or slight blurring of vision, but complete vision loss may also occur. Occasionally, the MS-related inflammation of the optic nerve is also accompanied by eye pain, said the experts of the DGN.

MS symptoms vary greatly
Visual disorders are among the first symptoms of chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system in about 40 percent of MS patients, explained Prof. Gold. If there is a complete loss of vision, the MS disease is also relatively easy to recognize as such by the ophthalmologist and the risk of misdiagnosis is relatively low, added the expert. However, according to Prof. Gold, the milky veil and the blurred vision are easily confused with the symptoms of other diseases, so that misdiagnosis is not uncommon here. The same applies to the motor problems, which are the first symptoms in 30 percent of MS patients. However, the orthopedic surgeons frequently visited for musculoskeletal disorders should be able to detect relatively quickly whether MS is the cause of the impairment or other health problems, explained Prof. Gold. Accordingly, the orthopedic surgeons can test the functioning of the nerves with the aid of reflex examinations and, if necessary, refer the patients to a neurologist. In the remaining 30 percent of MS patients, the chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system initially manifests as a numb feeling in individual limbs, reported Prof. Gold. Especially in older patients will be common here „once thought of a stroke“, the expert continues. Magnetic resonance tomography of the head could, however, make it relatively clear whether circulatory disturbances in the arteries (signs of a stroke) or MS inflammatory lesions are present.

MS patients usually wait years for the diagnosis
Overall has „the hitherto incurable disease“ multiple sclerosis „many different faces“, emphasized Prof. Ralf Gold. Therefore, it takes an average of three to four years until the patient has a clear diagnosis. In addition, the first symptoms of MS are usually very mild and often resolve on their own due to spontaneous opportunities to regenerate, reports Prof. Gold. However, as soon as the patients no longer have any symptoms, according to the expert, the diagnosis is often discontinued. With the onset of the next episode of illness, the diagnosis starts almost from scratch. This complicates the fact that the second episode can cause symptoms other than the initial symptoms of MS. Often the initial symptoms are therefore not associated with the symptoms of the second episode, which further complicates MS diagnosis, explained Prof. Gold.

World MS Day: Raise Awareness of Chronic Disease
The in the „Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF)“ Organized MS societies have been initiating the World MS Day every year since 2009 „to raise public awareness of this chronic disease“. The population should be educated and informed about multiple sclerosis and its effects on daily life, not least to raise awareness of the concerns of MS patients. At this year's World MS Day events and actions are topics „The invisible symptoms of multiple sclerosis“ such as „Work and MS in the foreground. Employer opportunities to secure participation in working life for MS sufferers are also a focus of discussion. (Fp)

Also read:
Cannabis cultivation: seriously ill people achieve partial success
Preventive vaccine against multiple sclerosis?
Multiple Sclerosis thrusts often in the summer

Image: Dieter Schütz