Multiple sclerosis is often diagnosed years after the appearance of the first symptoms which would often be perceived, wrongly, as part of a pre-diagnosis phase when they would be a sign that the disease is already active.
- People with MS can develop various neurological symptoms caused by damage to the nervous system which can include sensory dysfunction or visual disturbances.
- The earlier MS is recognized, the better it can be managed.
- Surprisingly, people with MS are less likely to seek medical attention for upper respiratory tract infections.
Years before being diagnosed, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) visit doctors and hospitals significantly more than others. This observation led German researchers to wonder if this could constitute a preliminary phase of MS, known as the prodrome. In a study presented on June 15 in the journal Neurologythey believe that recurring health problems may be an early sign of MS.
Symptoms that vary between patients
Early symptoms of MS are often varied between patients. People with multiple sclerosis can develop various neurological symptoms caused by damage to the nervous system which can, in the early stages, include sensory dysfunction such as numbness or visual disturbances. It is often difficult to interpret them correctly to arrive at a diagnosis of MS.
Nevertheless, observation of patients allowed researchers to realize that MS patients have a significantly higher number of doctor visits and hospitalizations, even years before the first diagnosis, compared to control individuals. in good health. The latter saw this pre-diagnosis period as a possible prodromal phase of the disease.
Recognize MS earlier to better treat it
In the new study, the researchers take another reading of these episodes. According to them, this is not a pre-diagnosis period but a phase during which the disease is well and truly active. “We found that doctor’s appointments and hospitalizations frequently involve complaints indicating symptoms typical of MSsays neurologist Bernhard Hemmer, one of the authors of the study. We believe that many complaints attributed to a prodromal phase are actually caused by an ongoing illness. We therefore believe that, although the disease has not yet been diagnosed, it is fully active and is not in a preliminary or prodromal phase..”
These data open up prospects for optimizing the treatment of MS. “The earlier MS is recognized, the better we can treat the diseasesays Christiane Gasperi, physician-researcher in neurology and lead author of the study. We now need to take a closer look at which early symptoms of MS might be overlooked. This could allow us to recognize the disease at an earlier stage and thus allow an earlier start of treatment..”
The study also shows that people with MS are less likely to seek medical attention for upper respiratory tract infections. “This was unexpected, given that MS relapses have sometimes been associated with infectionsassures Alexander Hapfelmeier, co-lead author of the research. However, future studies will be needed to determine if there is a causal link between MS and a degree of protection against certain infections, or if the health data we analyzed reflect a protective behavior adopted by people with MS..”
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