Thursday, March 7, 2024, 3:29 p.m
Stuttgart – AMSEL, Action for Multiple Sclerosis Sufferers, regional association of the DMSG in Baden-Württemberg eV, as a professional association, self-help organization and advocacy group, is taking a closer look at the female face of multiple sclerosis (MS) on International Women’s Day 2024. Significantly more women than men suffer from the chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the nervous system, as data from the German MS registry (www.msregister.de) shows. AMSEL eV offers extensive information and advice for people with MS in all situations, especially for women with MS with regard to “their” questions about the desire to have children, training, career or symptoms and therapy options. More at www.amsel.de.
252,000 people in Germany, including 34,500 in Baden-Württemberg, have MS. MS is also known as the “disease of a thousand faces” due to the very different courses and symptoms that vary from person to person. In terms of gender-specific distribution, the disease has a predominantly female face: the proportion of women suffering from MS is 70.9 percent. In the most common form of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), the ratio of women to men is 3:1, and in newly diagnosed cases under the age of 20 it is even 4:1. If you look at the less common, primarily chronic progressive MS (PPMS) with its progressive course, women and men are affected in about half.
MS affects women at an important stage in their lives
The average age at onset of the disease is 33.2 years, which in most cases means at the beginning of a professional career and family planning. Women with MS often experience multiple burdens due to relationships, work and family desires, which are associated with additional risks. However, studies show that pregnancy does not negatively affect the course of MS and that disease activity can often decrease during pregnancy. However, the relapse rate often increases again after delivery.
Gender differences in MS
It is not yet clear why more women than men develop MS. Scientific studies believe the reasons include hormonal and genetic factors. Sex hormones in particular seem to have an influence on gender-specific differences, because after menopause, when female estrogen levels fall, differences in the course of the disease in women and men equalize again. While women are often characterized by an earlier onset of the disease, which is associated with more attacks over the course of the disease, which primarily affect the optic nerves and the sensory system, in men the progression usually progresses more quickly and in cases of attacks motor symptoms predominate and are more difficult to resolve. Overall, women show more inflammatory changes in the MRI, but men have more frequent lesions in the cerebellum and more atrophy (brain loss) – both of which are rather unfavorable prognostically factors.
AMSEL eV has been providing competent and reliable support to MS sufferers and their relatives for 50 years. Support in dealing with the disease and current information about MS is available at www.amsel.de.
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AMSEL – who is that?
The AMSEL, Action for Multiple Sclerosis Sufferers, regional association of the DMSG in Baden-Württemberg eV is a professional association, self-help organization and advocacy group for MS sufferers in Baden-Württemberg. The goals of AMSEL: To inform MS sufferers and to sustainably improve their living situation. The AMSEL regional association has around 7,200 members, over 60 AMSEL groups and 15 young initiatives throughout Baden-Württemberg. More at www.amsel.de
Multiple Sklerose (MS) is the most common inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. For reasons that are still unknown, the protective coverings of the nerve pathways are attacked and destroyed in different places, and as a result, nerve signals can only be transmitted with a delay or not at all. The symptoms range from numbness to vision, coordination and concentration problems and paralysis. The previously incurable but now treatable disease often breaks out between the ages of 20 and 40.
MS in numbers
34,500 MS sufferers in Baden-Württemberg
3.2 people with MS per 1,000 inhabitants in Baden-Württemberg
1,800 new cases per year in Baden-Württemberg
5 diagnoses every day in Baden-Württemberg
252,000 MS sufferers across Germany
1.2 million people with MS across Europe
2.8 million people with MS worldwide