These Symptoms Could Be Early Warning Signs of MS, a Decade Before Diagnosis
A new study found poor mental health may be one of the earliest hints of this disease, which impacts about 2.8 million people globally.
University of British Columbia epidemiologist Marta Ruiz-Algueró and colleagues investigated the medical histories of 2,038 patients with MS in Canada and compared them to 10,182 patients without.
Related:
They found patients who went on to develop MS had presented to their physicians with symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, dizziness, anxiety, and depression more often than the general population.
What's more, these clues appeared as early as 15 years before more established symptoms were first detected. The researchers also identified a spike in visits to neurologists and ophthalmologists around 8 to 9 years before their diagnosis. This was then followed by a surge of visits for physical symptoms in the lead-up to diagnosis.
"We're only now starting to understand what these early warning signs are, with mental health-related issues appearing to be among the earliest indicators," says Ruiz-Algueró.
"These patterns suggest that MS has a long and complex prodromal phase – where something is happening beneath the surface but hasn't yet declared itself as MS."
Symptoms of poor mental health are common throughout the population, the researchers caution, and most people who experience them will not go on to develop MS. Still, if we can better understand how such signs relate to MS, it may become possible to identify risk factors and earlier interventions.
"MS can be difficult to recognize as many of the earliest signs – like fatigue, headache, pain, and mental health concerns – can be quite general and easily mistaken for other conditions," explains University of British Columbia epidemiologist Helen Tremlett.
The immune systems of people with MS mistakenly attack their nerves' fatty protective coating, called the myelin sheath. This can eventually lead to pain, loss of sensation, and loss of motor function in different parts of the body, as the connection between the body and the brain becomes compromised. Fatigue, vision disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction are also common symptoms.
While viral and bacterial infections have been implicated in triggering MS, and certain genes appear to make some people more susceptible, we don't yet fully understand what causes the immune system to go rogue. Therapies can help reduce relapses, but there's no treatment to prevent the disease's progress.
Previous research has also identified a pattern of MS-specific antibodies in blood five or more years before characteristic symptoms arise.
"Our findings dramatically shift the timeline for when these early warning signs are thought to begin, potentially opening the door to opportunities for earlier detection and intervention," concludes Tremlett.
This research was published in JAMA.
Related News
The Blood of Exceptionally Long-Lived People Suggests Key Differences
Switching Off For a Moment Lets Your Brain Do Something Wonderful
Short, Brisk Walks Could Help You Live Longer Than Long, Slow Strolls
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
These Symptoms Could Be Early Warning Signs of MS, a Decade Before Diagnosis
Signs of a rogue immune system may be present more than a decade before the debilitating physical symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) reveal themselves. A new study found poor mental health may be one of the earliest hints of this disease, which impacts about 2.8 million people globally. University of British Columbia epidemiologist Marta Ruiz-Algueró and colleagues investigated the medical histories of 2,038 patients with MS in Canada and compared them to 10,182 patients without. Related: They found patients who went on to develop MS had presented to their physicians with symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, dizziness, anxiety, and depression more often than the general population. What's more, these clues appeared as early as 15 years before more established symptoms were first detected. The researchers also identified a spike in visits to neurologists and ophthalmologists around 8 to 9 years before their diagnosis. This was then followed by a surge of visits for physical symptoms in the lead-up to diagnosis. "We're only now starting to understand what these early warning signs are, with mental health-related issues appearing to be among the earliest indicators," says Ruiz-Algueró. "These patterns suggest that MS has a long and complex prodromal phase – where something is happening beneath the surface but hasn't yet declared itself as MS." Symptoms of poor mental health are common throughout the population, the researchers caution, and most people who experience them will not go on to develop MS. Still, if we can better understand how such signs relate to MS, it may become possible to identify risk factors and earlier interventions. "MS can be difficult to recognize as many of the earliest signs – like fatigue, headache, pain, and mental health concerns – can be quite general and easily mistaken for other conditions," explains University of British Columbia epidemiologist Helen Tremlett. The immune systems of people with MS mistakenly attack their nerves' fatty protective coating, called the myelin sheath. This can eventually lead to pain, loss of sensation, and loss of motor function in different parts of the body, as the connection between the body and the brain becomes compromised. Fatigue, vision disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction are also common symptoms. While viral and bacterial infections have been implicated in triggering MS, and certain genes appear to make some people more susceptible, we don't yet fully understand what causes the immune system to go rogue. Therapies can help reduce relapses, but there's no treatment to prevent the disease's progress. Previous research has also identified a pattern of MS-specific antibodies in blood five or more years before characteristic symptoms arise. "Our findings dramatically shift the timeline for when these early warning signs are thought to begin, potentially opening the door to opportunities for earlier detection and intervention," concludes Tremlett. This research was published in JAMA. Related News The Blood of Exceptionally Long-Lived People Suggests Key Differences Switching Off For a Moment Lets Your Brain Do Something Wonderful Short, Brisk Walks Could Help You Live Longer Than Long, Slow Strolls Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Melting of billions of sea stars linked to bacteria that's also deadly to humans
Researchers have unmasked the deadly bacteria responsible for causing sea stars to melt away, killing billions over the past decade and upending marine ecological habitats. Sea Star Wasting Disease, or SSWD, is considered the largest marine epidemic ever documented in the wild and killed billions of sea stars from Alaska to Mexico, according to the Tula Foundation, which is among the organizations investigating this deadly disease. SSWD has wiped out 90% of sunflower sea stars along the west coast of North America. Record-breaking Mega Coral Visible From Space Is Possibly 300 Years Old The symptoms of the washing disease start with lesions on the outside of a sea star and eventually turns deadly as its tissue "melts." The whole process takes about two weeks, causing sea stars to become completely disfigured, often losing their arms in the process. The cause of this disease has remained elusive for the past decade, until now. An international team of researchers from the Hakai Institute, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Washington pinpointed a strain of bacterium, Vibrio pectenicida, as the culprit behind the death of billions of sea stars. Vibrio is a genus of bacteria deadly to coral and shellfish. Vibrio cholerae is the pathogen that causes cholera in humans. It took years of honing in on different pathogens before the team finally found a match. "When we looked at the coelomic fluid between exposed and healthy sea stars, there was basically one thing different: Vibrio," said senior study author Alyssa Gehman, a marine disease ecologist with Hakai Institute and UBC. "We all had chills. We thought, That's it. We have it. That's what causes wasting." Researchers Use Seaweed To Cut Concrete's Carbon Footprint Their findings were published this week in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, and came after four years of research in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, the Tula Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Fisheries Research Center and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Study author Melanie Prentice, an evolutionary ecologist at the Hakai Institute and UBC, said the massive loss of sunflower sea stars has caused widespread changes across coastal ecosystems. "When we lose billions of sea stars, that really shifts the ecological dynamics," Prentice said in a statement. "In the absence of sunflower stars, sea urchin populations increase, which means the loss of kelp forests, and that has broad implications for all the other marine species and humans that rely on them. So losing a sea star goes far beyond the loss of that single species." The research team said identifying the cause of the wasting disease is the first crucial step toward recovery. Gehman said scientists can now look at additional factors of the disease, including ocean temperature. Vibrio is known to multiply in warm article source: Melting of billions of sea stars linked to bacteria that's also deadly to humans
USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
Christina Applegate hospitalized with kidney infection
Christina Applegate is sharing an update from the hospital amid a new health challenge. The "Dead to Me" star, 53, revealed on the latest episode of her "MeSsy" podcast, released on Aug. 5, that she was hospitalized with a kidney infection. Applegate, who also has multiple sclerosis, recorded the podcast while still in the hospital. "I'm holding in (a) bag o' tears right now," she said. "Just (a) bag o' tears. I sometimes fall into the nurse's arms like a freako, just crying." USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Applegate for more information. Applegate said she went to the hospital after feeling unwell on a recent trip to Europe. She soon began experiencing "a pain that I've never felt before on my right side," which was so intense that she "was screaming," she said. After an emergency CT scan, Applegate was diagnosed with a kidney infection. "I'm here because of this kidney infection, and I have to have intravenous antibiotics right now," she said. "That's where we're at. Now they're thinking it could be something else, and I don't want to say what they think because I don't want it to sound scary." Christina Applegate says MS symptoms landed her in hospital over 30 times Applegate was recording the episode on a Wednesday after going to the hospital the previous Saturday. She told listeners, "They won't let me leave yet because things are messy. But I'm going to be OK." The "Married… with Children" actress has been open about her health struggles in recent years and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021. She hosts the "MeSsy" podcast with fellow actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also has MS. Christina Applegate gets emotional about MS battle: 'Worst thing I've ever gone through' According to the Mayo Clinic, multiple sclerosis is a disease that "causes breakdown of the protective covering of nerves" and can cause numbness, weakness, difficulty walking and changes in vision. There is no cure for MS. In a March podcast episode, Applegate revealed she has been in the hospital "upward of 30 times" since being diagnosed with MS. She said she has been dealing with "throwing up and diarrhea and pain" and struggles to use the bathroom without vomiting. While she noted her medical team told her that this is not typically an "MS thing," Applegate argued that "there's got to be a correlation here." During her most recent hospital visit, Applegate asked doctors to perform "every test you can possibly think of" and decided she was "not leaving" until she had answers about her symptoms, she said on the Aug. 5 episode. "I want to know why this is happening, and I want it to stop," she said. The Emmy winner previously opened up about the toll of her MS battle in a May appearance on the "Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend" podcast. "I don't really leave the house anymore," she said. "If people saw what my life is like on the daily, they wouldn't be able to do it, because I can sometimes not do it. It's really, really hard." Applegate added: "This is the worst thing I've ever had in my life. This is the worst thing I've ever gone through. I'm going to start crying." Contributing: Anna Kaufman
