Stage 4: End stage. This is the final stage of MS. Patients have lost physical mobility and independence. Severe and life-threatening complications can occur.
Secondary progressive MS (SPMS) is a stage of MS which comes after relapsing remitting MS for many people. With this type of MS your disability gets steadily worse.
New medications have slowed the progression of the condition. However, people will generally experience a progression of MS symptoms and severity throughout their lives. There are four stages/types of MS progression: clinically isolated syndrome.
End-of-life care
MS is rarely fatal. However, research suggests that life expectancy for people with MS may be about 7 years shorter than that of the general population. As you age, MS can have a greater impact on your quality of life.
Incorporation of palliative care, including end-of-life planning, is one way to ensure that people with MS receive the necessary attention to their issues in medical, psychosocial, functional and spiritual domains throughout their entire disease course.
Respiratory infection is a common cause of death; it contributed to 12.7% of all deaths, but this contribution increased to 22.5% for deaths attributed to MS. Increased levels of frailty and a diagnosis of chronic disease (such as MS) are associated with poorer outcomes in respiratory infection.
MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties. The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.
It's also common early on in the disease to experience long intervals between relapses. Later, as MS progresses, people may have difficulty with tremors, coordination, and walking. They may find that their relapses become more frequent, and that they are less able to recover from them.
Those symptoms include loss of vision in an eye, loss of power in an arm or leg or a rising sense of numbness in the legs. Other common symptoms associated with MS include spasms, fatigue, depression, incontinence issues, sexual dysfunction, and walking difficulties.
After the first onset of symptoms, patients generally experience more relapse episodes and rapid deterioration of their neurological and physical abilities over a short period of time.
You might become severely affected only for a while, during a serious relapse when your symptoms and disability suddenly get worse. But usually people who are severely affected by MS gradually get that way after many years of having it.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is difficult to diagnose, and, as yet, it has no cure. However, according to new research, it may be possible to slow its progression without some of the health risks associated with current treatments.
Common Symptoms & Complications
More severe symptoms and complications that may develop during the final stages of multiple sclerosis include: Difficulty breathing. Limited mobility/paralysis. Speech complications.
Sudden unexpected death in MS is rare. In an autopsy study it has been suggested that the presence of demyelinating lesions involving the brainstem regions that regulate cardio-respiratory activity may cause sudden death in MS.
your genes – MS isn't directly inherited, but people who are related to someone with the condition are more likely to develop it; the chance of a sibling or child of someone with MS also developing it is estimated to be around 2 to 3 in 100.
Possible triggers include infections and stress, but there may also be no noticeable trigger. Anyone who notices a worsening of symptoms or that new symptoms appear should contact a doctor in case they need additional treatment or monitoring.
Exposure to stress has long been suspected as a factor that can aggravate MS. There are many studies showing that among people diagnosed with MS, stressful life events are associated with a significant increase in risk of MS exacerbation in the weeks or months following onset of the stressor.
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.
Age. Most people diagnosed with MS, are between the ages of 20 and 50 years old, although MS can develop at any age.
Yes. Most insurers include MS as one of the conditions their Critical Illness cover is designed to protect. The definition of exactly what is needed to make a successful claim will differ from insurer to insurer.
Current evidence shows that simply having MS does not make you more likely than the general population to develop COVID-19, become severely ill or die from the infection. However, certain factors have been shown to increase the risk of a severe case of COVID-19: Progressive MS. Older age.
Most symptoms develop abruptly, within hours or days. These attacks or relapses of MS typically reach their peak within a few days at most and then resolve slowly over the next several days or weeks so that a typical relapse will be symptomatic for about eight weeks from onset to recovery.
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.