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World Multiple Sclerosis Day

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World Multiple Sclerosis Day

World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day is commemorated on May 30, a date that invites to raise awareness about this orphan disease.

According to data from the International Multiple Sclerosis Federation, this condition affects more than 2.8 million people worldwide and is two to three times more common in women than in men.

In Colombia, the probability of suffering from this pathology is low to intermediate and it is estimated that, for every 100,000 inhabitants, about 7 may suffer from it.

MS is a chronic, neurodegenerative, autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, affecting the brain and spinal cord. This generates the appearance of different symptoms, ranging from speech difficulties and involuntary tremors, to numbness in the extremities, lack of coordination and balance, and partial or total loss of vision.

In general, MS is considered to be a very heterogeneous disease and manifests itself differently for each person who has it.

timely diagnosis

Although the specific cause of MS is still unknown, it has been identified that the pathology is due to the interaction of different factors that include the sex of the people, their genetics, geographic location, environmental conditions and their lifestyles.

It is important to note that, in most cases, timely diagnosis and treatment can prevent the development of progressive disability and irreversible damage to the nervous system.

However, for 56% of patients in the world, the time elapsed between the first symptoms and the detection of the disease is six months or more.

In fact, the diagnosis of this disease is based on ruling out other diseases that can cause similar symptoms, which is called “differential diagnosis.”

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In the past, many people with MS progressed in their disease accumulating high levels of disability and losing, among other functions, the ability to walk.

However, this panorama has been changing in the last 2 decades due to the appearance of new drugs to treat the disease. Currently, for the majority of people with MS, relapses of their disease can be successfully prevented and the progression of the condition can be partially slowed.

The incidence in women

Studies have confirmed that 70% of people with MS are women between the ages of 20 and 40, however, the exact causes why women are the population group most likely to suffer from this disease are still unknown.

Some studies suggest that female sex hormone levels (mainly oestrogens) may be the reason why women are more prone to relapsing-remitting MS.

According to Saúl Reyes, head of Neurology at the Santa Fe de Bogotá Foundation, “Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that develops at different rates in each person, partially depending on the patient’s sex.

Some investigations have determined that 48% of people who suffer from it live with chronic pain and, within this group, this symptom is much more frequent in women.

There is also evidence that MS tends to progress and worsen faster in men. Additionally, studies have shown that more than 40% of patients suffer from some type of sexual dysfunction. Therefore, the sex of the patient becomes important.

Mental health

When it comes to mental health, mood disorders as a consequence of MS are also very common, in both men and women.

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Some studies show differences between the sexes: while depression is just as common in men as in women with MS, anxiety is more common in women.

Likewise, the condition of pregnancy is a challenging stage for patients, since during pregnancy some MS symptoms such as fatigue, balance problems and alterations in sphincter control can worsen.

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