Feel wiped out in the summer months? It could be hidden sign of a deadly paralysing disease that's on the rise, top GP warns

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

Do you feel exhausted when it is hot outside? It could be an early sign of the debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis, an NHS GP has warned.
According to Dr Asif Ahmed, if you have fatigue that gets far worse in hot weather, it could be a sign of the progressive disease.
In a clip posted to TikTok that's so far had nearly 70,000 views, Dr Ahmed said: 'If you've got pain or [are] tired all the time or have visual problems, and say this one thing to me [that it gets worse in the heat] I'm definitely thinking about multiple sclerosis.
'Often people say they have dizziness or the headache or the pain gets worse when they are exercising or when they go in a sauna or when they have a hot bath,' he said.
The worsening of a neurological condition as the body temperature rises is the Uhtoff's Phenomenon, he explained.
It is experienced by 60 to 80 per cent of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), so while it doesn't necessarily mean you have the condition, it is a 'strong indicator', he warned.
He urged those who experience worsening symptoms in the heat to speak to a doctor who can advise if you need further tests.
MS is a life-changing, incurable condition affecting the brain and spinal cord that causes debilitating muscle spasms, among other symptoms.
While MS does not directly kill, at advanced stages, it can cause weakness in the chest muscles, leading to difficulty breathing and swallowing—which can have life-threatening complications.
Those in the late stage of the illness are also extremely vulnerable to potentially deadly infections.
Some studies show that MS patients are up to 75 per cent more likely to die young than those without the disease.
Most people find out they have MS in their thirties and forties, but the first signs can start years earlier.
The main symptoms include fatigue, numbness and tingling, loss of balance and dizziness, and stiffness or spasms.
Others include memory and thinking problems, vision changes, bowel trouble, bladder problems, pain, and tremors.
The doctor's warning follows a concerning rise in cases, with around 150,000 people living with MS in the UK.
This is up from around 130,000 in 2019, according to recent research by the MS Society.
The doctor's warning follows soaring rates—an estimated 150,000 people with MS in the UK , and nearly 7,100 more people being diagnosed each year.
While experts don't know the reason cases are on the rise, possible factors are infections, a lack of vitamin D, smoking, solvents, obesity, and stress.
It is important to spot the early signs of the condition, as while there is no cure for MS, treatments can slow the progression of the disease.
The type of treatment you will need depends on the type of the disease patients have: relapsing remitting, secondary progressive, and primary progressive.
Relapse and remitting MS involves flare-ups of symptoms where they get worse (relapse) and get better (remission).
Over time it often develops into secondary progressive MS, when symptoms are there all the time, and get slowly worse.
In the less common case of primary progressive MS, symptoms slowly getting worse over time without periods of them going away or getting better.
Treatments may include several types of medication such as steroids, disease-modifying therapies, muscle relaxants, and those to treat pain and other symptoms.
Other types of support include advice on fatigue, physiotherapy, mobility equipment, talking therapies, and cognitive rehabilitation.
This warning comes months after, Hollywood actress Selma Blair, diagnosed with MS in 2018, shared she was 'in remission' after receiving a promising new treatment.
The Legally Blonde actress underwent a treatment found to slow progression and ease symptoms called a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
This procedure extracts and then reinfuses stems cells—undifferentiated cells with the ability to develop into various specialised cell types—into a person's body.
The results of this procedure can go as far as to 'see patients go from a wheelchair to walking', experts have said.
Doctors are using these types of procedures to repair years-worth of brain damage, even restoring some paralysed patients' ability to walk by re-growing tissue.
Dr Alexander Scheer, an expert in regenerative medicine who has treated patients with MS with stem cells, said: 'It's so beautiful to watch.
'I mean, to see a patient go from a wheelchair, to be able to walk is, to me, why I went into medicine.'
The doctor successfully treated Richard Benedetto, 56, who has MS, with stem cell transplants.
Mr Benedetto regained his ability to walk after undergoing a series of operations to transplant stem cells into his brain.