Latest news with #multiplesclerosis
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Signs Of MS Can Appear 15 Years Before Diagnosis, Says Study—And Many Women Miss These Early Clues
It's easy to assume that you'd know when you're dealing with a disease as serious as multiple sclerosis. But it can take years for people with MS to get a proper diagnosis. Now, new research suggests that subtle symptoms of the disease may show up even 15 years before someone gets diagnosed with MS. In case you're not familiar with it, MS (multiple sclerosis) is a chronic condition where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers. People can experience a range of symptoms with MS, including vision problems, muscle weakness, tingling in the arms and legs, and muscle spasms, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Some people with MS will eventually develop partial or complete paralysis, per NINDS. The findings of the new JAMA Network Open study are shocking, and raise a lot of questions about how people can tell if their symptoms are due to something minor or a condition as serious as MS. Here's what neurologists want you to know. Meet the experts: Clifford Segil, DO, is a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA; Amit Sachdev, MD, MS, is the medical director in the Department of Neurology at Michigan State University. What did the study find? For the study, researchers analyzed the health records of about 2,000 people in British Columbia. They discovered that people who were eventually diagnosed with MS started interacting with the healthcare system more frequently 15 years before they first had symptoms that were later identified as being due to MS. Every person's health journey was different, but the researchers were able to pick up general trends. People who were eventually diagnosed with MS started seeing general practitioners more frequently 15 years before they were diagnosed for symptoms like fatigue, pain, dizziness, and mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. In the 12 years before their diagnosis, the patients saw a psychiatrist more often. Eight to nine years before a diagnosis, they had more frequent visits to neurologists and eye doctors, which may have been linked to blurry vision or eye pain. Three to five years before they were diagnosed, they visited the ER and had radiology visits more often. A year before their diagnosis, the patients saw physicians more often across a range of specialties, including neurology, emergency medicine, and radiology. This suggests 'that MS may have started earlier than previously thought,' the researchers wrote in the conclusion. Why might MS be so hard to detect this early? MS can look slightly different for everyone, and there is a wide range of symptoms, points out Amit Sachdev, MD, MS, medical director in the Department of Neurology at Michigan State University. MS is an autoimmune disease, and it can cause inflammation throughout the body, he explains. 'With excess inflammation, the body may feel generally dysfunctional,' Sachdev says. Meaning, you can feel lousy overall or in a lot of areas, making it hard for doctors (and you) to pin down what could be behind this. People with MS can also struggle with fatigue, which can be a tough symptom to tie to any one condition, Sachdev says. Symptoms like pain, mood changes, and fatigue tend to be linked more to an MS diagnosis after it's made, because they can be due to a range of health conditions, says Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. He says he tends to discover these symptoms when he looks back at patient's health history after an MS diagnosis. What should you do if you're having these symptoms? Doctors say it's a stretch to suggest that you should assume you have MS if you're only dealing with fatigue or mood changes. But Sachdev says you also shouldn't brush off symptoms that just don't quit. 'Health is deeply personal. To manage it, you need to begin with a provider that connects with you,' he says. 'Ideally, you would begin with a single observation or concern that is bothersome. Focusing on this issue with that provider is the place to start.' But Segil stresses the importance of seeing a specialist if you're dealing with several symptoms you really can't explain. 'Whenever you have a constellation of symptoms which are without a clear medical diagnosis, seeing a neurologist may be wise,' he says. They can help take a careful assessment of your health history, along with ordering testing, to see what could be going on. You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals Solve the daily Crossword
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Harvard scientists say research could be set back years after funding freeze
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University professor Alberto Ascherio's research is literally frozen. Collected from millions of U.S. soldiers over two decades using millions of dollars from taxpayers, the epidemiology and nutrition scientist has blood samples stored in liquid nitrogen freezers within the university's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The samples are key to his award-winning research, which seeks a cure to multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases. But for months, Ascherio has been unable to work with the samples because he lost $7 million in federal research funding, a casualty of Harvard's fight with the Trump administration.
Daily Mail
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
MS stricken Christina Applegate reveals teen daughter's comment that drove her to tears: 'knife to the heart'
Christina Applegate, who is battling multiple sclerosis, has revealed a heartbreaking comment her 14-year-old daughter Sadie made about her condition. The 53-year-old actress was diagnosed with the degenerative illness in 2021 after suffering what she described as 'six or seven years of symptoms.' Now she has shared she and Sadie 'got into a big thing the other day, and - sorry Sadie, but it has to be said - she says: "I miss you who were before you got sick."' She made the disclosure while discussing her health problems during an appearance on Kelly Ripa 's podcast Let's Talk Off-Camera. 'And that just like - it's like knife to heart because I miss who I was before I got sick too, very much so. Everyday of my life, it's such a loss,' Christina confessed. The Married... with Children star said that she gets 'up in the morning' for Sadie's sake, adding: 'She's the reason I'm still here and trying.' She has been candid about her health struggles on her podcast MeSsy, which she co-hosts with The Sopranos actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has the same condition. Jamie-Lynn and Christina were making a joint appearance on Kelly Ripa's podcast when the subject of Sadie's shattering comment arose. Christina revealed last year that Sadie was diagnosed with a neurological condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). POTS causes the patient's heart rate to quicken when sitting or standing up, in a phenomenon heightened by hot weather. 'When I stand up, I get really, really dizzy and my legs get really weak, and I feel like I'm going to pass out,' Sadie explained on her mother's podcast. Christina shares her daughter with her second and current husband Martyn LeNoble, the Dutch bassist for the rock band Porno For Pyros. She announced last year that she is writing a memoir, and it has since emerged the book is scheduled for publication by Little, Brown and Company next March. Before she developed multiple sclerosis, Christina's health problems included a 2008 diagnosis with breast cancer, for which she underwent a double mastectomy, and a struggle with anorexia during the early years of her stardom. Last year, amid her harrowing experience with multiple sclerosis, Christina revealed the 'things I want to do with the days I have left in life.' Writing on X, formerly Twitter, she shared: 'I want to work with Shirley MacLaine And do shots with Cher! And yes my days are so big. Just saying.' Christina at one point raised concerns among her fans by remarking on her podcast: 'I don't enjoy living. I don't enjoy it. I don't enjoy things anymore.' As her fans expressed their fears for her on social media, she issued a clarification saying that she finds it 'healing' to be frank about her emotional turmoil. She acknowledged that she harbors 'dark thoughts' but argued: ''By making such a big deal about it you're making other people think: "Oh, s***, I can't talk about this." And that is not okay with me. I think it's important to be able to say these things.'
BBC News
26-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'Gloucester oxygen therapy centre is my lifeline'
A woman who has multiple sclerosis (MS) and attends an oxygen therapy centre has described the care she receives as "a lifeline".Jayne Lock, who lives in Gloucestershire, was diagnosed with MS in 1998. It is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord and can have varying symptoms, including fatigue, vision problems and numbness. While it cannot currently be cured, treatment can often help manage Lock has been going to the charity Charcot Therapy Centre, in Gloucester, for exercises and treatment for 25 said: "Without it there would be a big black hole in my life. I'd be lost." The centre is celebrating 40 years of supporting people with neurological or long term offers a range of treatment and services, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Mrs Lock, who worked through all four of her pregnancies, said her MS diagnosis "took working life away" from her."It was horrendous because I'd not associated myself with MS, I didn't really know what it was," she said."A lot of people then sort of said 'oh, I'm so sorry that's what you've got'. So it made [me] feel even worse."But it's not a death sentence and that's important to recognise." Mrs Lock takes specialist exercise classes and has oxygen therapy at the centre."It's not like a hospital, it's not clinical. It's homely and gives me an uplift when I walk through the door," she oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized increases oxygen levels in the blood, helping tissues heal more Lock explained there is a "strong social part" about receiving therapy at the centre."You can talk to other people that have got similar issues to you," she said."You're not all alone. You're not isolated and it's nice to be around people who understand." Rachael Evans, who has been CEO of the centre since 2014, said: "This is my passion. Like Jayne, people arrive, and then they don't go."This is about creating a place where people can come and be themselves."When Ms Evans joined Charcot there were about 36 people attending the centre. That number has now grown to more than 300."Not one person in this building is a number, everybody is an individual as we pride ourselves on getting to know everyone," she said."The door is open and it will always be open."
