On average, the lifespan for people with MS is about five to 10 years shorter than for the general population, but this gap is getting shorter as treatments and care continue to improve.
You may have to adapt your daily life if you're diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), but with the right care and support many people can lead long, active and healthy lives.
Many people with MS may live for 25 to 35 years or longer after their diagnosis. Survival is improving in MS patients, but chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, depression, or diabetes may lower life expectancy in MS.
As you get older, MS becomes more of a progressive disease. You might notice your MS symptoms start to get worse just as you reach menopause.
Pulmonary complications.
MS can weaken the muscles that control the lungs. Such respiratory issues are the major cause of sickness and death in people in the final stages of MS.
Disease Course of MS Is Unpredictable
A person with benign MS will have few symptoms or loss of ability after having MS for about 15 years, while most people with MS would be expected to have some degree of disability after that amount of time, particularly if their MS went untreated.
Losing your ability to communicate. Immobility, which may lead to pressure sores and blood clots. Increased levels of pain. Mental decline or confusion.
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.
MS is not an inherited disease — it is not passed down from generation to generation. But people can inherit genetic risk. This means that MS is not genetic in the simpler way that black hair or dimples are.
Four disease courses have been identified in multiple sclerosis: clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS).
While living with multiple sclerosis is a challenge, palliative care can make a big difference. Some palliative care treatments for MS include medications and techniques relieve muscle spasms, calm nerves, ease depression and manage pain. Palliative care teams treat your specific symptoms, whatever they may be.
Over time, more than two-thirds of people remain able to walk, although they may need an ambulation aid such as a cane or walker to do so. Some may choose to use a motorized scooter or wheelchair for long distances, in order to conserve energy and remain more active; others may need to use a wheelchair all the time.
The study found that people with MS lived to be 75.9 years old, on average, compared to 83.4 years old for those without. That 7.5-year difference is similar to what other researchers have found recently.
MS is not directly inherited from parent to child. There's no single gene that causes it. Over 200 genes might affect your chances of getting MS.
MS can appear at any age but most commonly manifests between the ages of 20 and 40. It affects women two to three times as often as men. Almost one million people in the United States have MS, making it one of the most common causes of neurological disability among young adults in North America.
A variety of viruses have been linked to MS , including Epstein-Barr, the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis. Race. White people, particularly those of Northern European descent, are at highest risk of developing MS . People of Asian, African or Native American descent have the lowest risk.
It can cause symptoms like problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. It's a lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability. In many cases, it's possible to treat symptoms. Average life expectancy is slightly reduced for people with MS.
“All current MS treatments are designed to stop new disease activity in the central nervous system,” Dr. Nntranos says. “They can prevent the accumulation of lingering inflammation in the brain and spinal cord that could cause progression in the later stages of MS.
People with primary progressive MS (PPMS) may have progressive memory loss and mild to moderate loss of attention and focus that seems like dementia. These may be due to lesions and reduced blood flow in areas of the brain like the frontal or temporal lobes, as well as the white matter.
Neuropathic pain happens from “short circuiting” of the nerves that carry signals from the brain to the body because of damage from MS. These pain sensations feel like burning, stabbing, sharp and squeezing sensations. In MS you can experience acute neuropathic pain and chronic neuropathic pain.