Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis: Read Some Important, Subjective Symptoms
Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
- Multiple sclerosis affects young adults mostly.
- Age of onset of symptoms is between 20-40 years.
- Multiple sclerosis is slightly more common in females than in males.
- Multiple sclerosis is characterized by lesions which are disseminated in time and space.
- Remissions and relapses are frequent in multiple sclerosis.
- Clinical features reflect involvement mainly of the white matter.
- Onset of symptom is usually acute of sub-acute. Symptoms depend up on areas of nervous system involved.
- Optic nerves, spinal cord, brain stem and cerebellum are most commonly involved.
Important Symptoms of multiple sclerosis
- Acute optic neuritis is most important presentation. Vision in one eye becomes hazy and is rapidly reduced. Eye is painful on movement.A central scotoma, especially for red or green test object in the early stages is characteristic. In few weeks, vision improves but the residual damage to the nerve manifests in some degree of optic atrophy. Lesions of optic nerve may be insidious. Approximately 20% of patients with optic neuritis ultimately develop other signs and symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Diplopia (double vision) without objective ocular muscle and even paralysis of conjugate ocular deviation can occur as a result of plaque in midbrain or pons.
- Inter-nuclear opthalmoplegia is an important sign of multiple sclerosis.
- Charcot’s triad of dysathria (scanning speech), nystagmus and intention tremors indicates involvement of cerebellum.
Mild vertigo may occur. Other features of brainstem involvement include sensory impairment in trigeminal nerve distribution and rarely trigeminal neuralgia and pseudo-bulbar palsy.
Spinal Cord Dysfunction
- Features of spinal cord dysfunction are frequent.
- Weakness of one or more limbs is a common symptom and may present as monoplegia, paraplegia or hemiplegia.
- Involvement of pyramidal pathways is common and is reflected in frequent occurrence of spasticity, hyper-reflexia, extensor plantar response and absent abdominal reflexes.
Subjective Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
- Subjective sensory symptom like tingling and numbness are common.
- Impairment of position and joint sensation result from lesion in posterior columns of spinal cord. As a result of plaque in posterior column tracts of cervical cord, an electric current like sensation may radiate through the body on flexion of neck (L’Hermite’s sign).
- Painful tonic spasms are a feature of multiple sclerosis.
- Urinary symptoms such as frequency, urgency or hesitation of micturation or urination are common.
- Mental symptoms such as euphoria or depression are sometimes seen.
June 11, 2009 | Filed Under
Neurological Disorders
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