March is MS awareness month, and so we continue our blog posts to spread knowledge of this devastating condition. As outlined last week, MS is a disease of the central nervous system in which nerve fibers and the myelin surrounding them are damaged by the body’s immune system. This week we will take a brief look at what kinds of symptoms result from this damage, as well as the process for diagnosing this condition.
Symptoms and severity of the disease can vary greatly from one person to another. Symptoms result due to the damage to nerve fibers. While the most common symptom of MS is fatigue, often the first symptom to be noticed is numbness or tingling. It is also common to see sensory issues (blurred vision, hearing loss), as well as cognitive and emotional changes in individuals with MS.
As the symptoms and severity of Multiple Sclerosis varies from one person to another, obtaining a diagnosis can be complicated. MS must be diagnosed by a physician, typically with use of imaging like MRI. In addition to imaging, a physician will typically conduct a variety of tests, including blood-work to rule out other possible causes of symptoms. Under the current standards – to make a diagnosis of MS – a physician must detect damage in at least two separate areas of the nervous system which happened on different occasions which do not have another obvious cause.
For more information on the symptoms or the process of diagnosis of MS, we invite you to visit the National MS Society’s website.