Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects more than 130,000 people in France and 5,000 patients are newly diagnosed each year, particularly women (3 out of 4 patients are women).
This is the first cause of severe non-traumatic disability in young adults indicates the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).
If the diagnosis of MS is generally made between the ages of 25 and 35, the France Multiple Sclerosis Foundation points out that there are pediatric forms of MS but also “forms which begin after the age of 50”.
In any case, the work of this team of Brazilian researchers, published in September 2024 in the American journal Brain Medicine, complement other similar work and will improve early diagnosis.
As a reminder, to date, the diagnosis of MS is based on three main principles, listed as follows by the Fondation Charcot Stretching :
- Clinical analysis compatible with the diagnosis: types of symptoms, evolution over time, sex and age, etc.
- Indices of dissemination: “that is to say symptoms involving different areas of the central nervous system and occurring at different times” specifies the foundation.
- The exclusion of other diagnoses.
The warning signs of MS: what we know
More than 5 years ago, a study of theUniversity of British Columbia (Canada) had thus produced a lot of work to identify all the listed symptoms of multiple sclerosis but also the associated pathologies, likely to increase the risk.
Multiple sclerosis is the first cause of severe non-traumatic disability in young adults.
Published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journalthis study thus establishes that fibromyalgia is 3 times more common in people with MS and irritable bowel syndrome 2 times more common in people with sclerosis.
Migraine, mood disorders and bipolar disorders are also more common in these patients. Better follow these pathologies by linking them to MS would be a way, according to doctors, for better early management of multiple sclerosis. Being better informed about the early signs would also make it possible to consult quickly in case of doubt.
A few years ago, we revealed to you in this article the 6 then identified signs of MS. Since then, scientists have listed new ones.
Two new early signs reported by this study
In September 2023, as we told you here, a study published in the journal Neurology listed anxiety and depression as two warning signs of MS, which can appear up to 5 years before diagnosis.
Today, two new signs have been identified by Brazilian scientists, early diagnostic signs but also and above all information on the severity of the disease.
These two signs are blurred vision and a sphincter dysfunction (knowing that we have several sphincters, this can result in urinary or intestinal problems).
More disabling MS in the presence of these symptoms
If these symptoms appear in the early stages of the disease, they are a harbinger of a greater disability.
At this point, researchers speculate that these two symptoms could possibly indicate more extensive initial damage to the central nervous system.
“Our research indicates that patients who experience acute blurred vision or sphincter dysfunction at the time of initial MS diagnosis may be at greater risk of developing more severe disability over time.“, explains Dr. Gonçalves, one of the authors of the study. “This information could be crucial for healthcare providers in determining initial treatment strategies and monitoring protocols.”
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