Multiple sclerosis. Symptoms in women, causes, stages, symptoms, prognosis, treatment, clinical guidelines

One common neurological disease is multiple sclerosis. His signs are observed at 2 million. patients worldwide. The disease is most prone to women aged 30 years, living in large cities with developed industry.

Characteristics of the disease

Multiple sclerosis symptoms which if untreated can rapidly progress - an autoimmune disease leading to the defeat of the brain and spinal cord. In the presence of this pathology's own tissues are perceived by the body as foreign bodies.

This primarily concerns covering nerve fibers of the myelin sheath. Under the action of the attacking its antibodies, protective layer degraded. As a result, it affected the vestibular system, vision and nervous sensitivity.

Multiple sclerosis is considered to be multifocal. This is due to the formation in the spinal cord and the brain of numerous plaques. If left untreated, the disease can make a person helpless, unable to perform the usual actions and decisions.

Despite the fact that patients under the age of 50 years longer than the female, pathology can be detected in men who suffer the disease is much harder. After 50 years of diagnosis cases occur with equal frequency in both sexes.

Forms localization of pathology

Depending on the affected area are the following forms of the disease:

form of the disease	Characteristic
cerebral	Disrupted the functioning of the brain. The patient suffers from epileptic seizures
stem	It occurs rarely and for a short period leads to a disability. The patient stays in the euphoria and can not adequately assess his condition
cerebellar	Cerebellar tremor manifested in the emergence of the extremities, changes in gait, incoherent speech. It can be combined with stem form
optical	Damaged optic nerves
Spine	Because of the disruption of the spinal cord there is a dysfunction of the pelvic organs and sensitivity blunting
cerebrospinal	The most common type of multiple sclerosis. Characterized by significant amount of affected areas of the brain. Observed irregularities in the work of the visual system, the vestibular apparatus, as well as the features characteristic of the cerebral and cerebellar pathologies

Stage multiple sclerosis

In the development of his symptoms become more pronounced.

Allocate 2 stages of multiple sclerosis:

• acute - deterioration of the health of patients goes on for 14 days.
• subacute - it lasts 60 days and smoothly passes into a chronic course of the disease.

Stages can share the stabilization period, when for 3 months or more progression of pathology is not observed, the patient may feel better.

Multiple sclerosis is not always begins with an exacerbation. At the beginning of the disease typical symptoms may be absent.

Says chronic fatigue, mood swings, loss of the ability to solve complex mental tasks. These changes are often associated with fatigue, making it difficult to timely diagnosis.

The causes of women

The exact causes of the disease have not been identified but are known factors that may provoke the development of disease:

• transferred earlier viral infection;
• Slagging of the organism;
• trauma to the cranium and spine;
• radiation exposure;
• genetic predisposition, according to the statistics increases the risk of disease in the 10-25 times;
• Regular stress;
• back-breaking physical work;
• bad habits;
• Complications after surgery;
• overabundance of proteins and fats in animal diets;
• poor environment and adverse climatic conditions, particularly cold and damp.

Symptoms in women

Manifestations of the disease depend on the location of sclerotic plaques.

Most of the patients concerned about such symptoms:

• Constant fatigue, decreased performance.
• Memory loss, confusion of thought, difficulty in switching to a new activity.
• Dizziness and blackouts without cause.
• Lack of pleasure from eating favorite foods earlier. Because of this, the patient can rapidly lose weight.
• Frequent migraine.
• Uncontrolled movement of the eyeballs.
• Depression, mood swings. The patient may become addicted to alcohol or to attempt suicide.
• Are in the field of things start to see double and lose sharpness. There is a foreign body sensation in the conjunctiva. Opening and closing of the eyes can be accompanied by painful sensations.
• Slurred speech.
• Difficulty swallowing food.
• A tremor and numbness, tingling or itching, problems with motor skills of hands.
• The paralysis of the facial muscles.
• Frustration of a chair.
• Failure of the menstrual cycle.
• Frequent urination or urinary incontinence.
• Imbalance of hormones and irregular menstrual cycles.

In 70% of women have symptoms of sexual dysfunction:

• lack of orgasm;
• vaginal dryness;
• pain during sexual intercourse;
• voltage thighs.

The first signs

Multiple sclerosis symptoms which affect almost all body systems, causing the following violations:

• The defeat of the cranial nerves. Hardest disrupted the functioning of the trigeminal, facial, oculomotor and hypoglossal nerves. More than half of patients complain of dulling sensitivity and tingling sensations in the toes and hands. About 70% of patients see the world distorted. During an exacerbation man is in a state of depression, changes his behavior and attitude towards life. Remission brings a false sense of recovery, but each subsequent attack inflicts considerable damage to the body, gradually bringing the patient to the disability.
• Cerebellar disorders. Violations are progressing gradually, lost the ability to control the movement of limbs, speech becomes tangled, there are muscle cramps, because of what becomes a meandering gait.
• Pelvic disorders. There is a disorder of the urinary system, urinary incontinence can be constant or occur sporadically. After visiting the toilet room is a feeling of heaviness of the bladder.
• Movement disorders. Lethargy muscles of hands and feet occurs in almost all patients. Over time, the pathology can lead to paralysis of the lower limbs.
• Emotional and mental disorders. Multiple sclerosis is accompanied by memory impairment and behavioral changes that can adversely affect a person's life. The period of stay in the euphoria may be replaced by apathy and indifference to life. Lost the ability to formulate his thoughts, abstract thinking, planning actions. Incoming information is not digested or accepted with great difficulty.

Risk of disease

Multiple sclerosis, which symptoms are aggravated periodically, can lead to serious pathologies:

• a complete loss of the lower half of the body of sensitivity;
• absence of urination and defecation;
• sexual dysfunction;
• epilepsy;
• prolonged depression;
• inability to think.

About half of the patients suffering from various pains:

• Sharp, appear and disappear suddenly.
• Girdling, covering the whole body.
• Lhermitte syndrome comparable to the current short-term blow to the head.
• Painful tic facial muscles, sneezing, yawning and other sudden movements.

Diagnostics

Symptoms of multiple sclerosis important to detect at an early stage to the maximum delay the onset of irreversible changes in the organism.

This is possible with the help of modern methods of diagnosis:

• lumbar puncture - sampling of cerebrospinal fluid, is generally carried out under local anesthesia. This analysis is carried out at the slightest suspicion of multiple sclerosis. It is important that the patient was psychologically ready to manipulate and understand that the doctor's actions will not bring harm to the spinal cord. After the procedure, the patient may feel slight discomfort in the area of ​​the puncture, which disappears within a week.
• Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy - using a special device, experts estimate the level of brain metabolism and the concentration of the biomarker is responsible for the stability of the psyche. In the presence of pathological levels of this marker in certain areas falling by 60-80%.
• MRI - hardware diagnostics reveals enlarged brain cavities and atrophied parts of its crust. For an informative snapshot used paramagnetic fluid stands out the most damaged area. Due to the fact that the scanner has a high resolution, the picture presented in 3 different projections, you can even see the smallest plaque. Pathological changes often affect the ventricles and the corpus callosum of the brain. Also, by using MRI can confirm the diagnosis if you suspect the presence of diseases with symptoms similar to the symptoms of multiple sclerosis - lupus, encephalomyelitis, Sjögren's syndrome.
  
• Elektroentsefalograma - definition of brain activity, the study of nerve fiber integrity. Particular attention is paid to the visual, somatosensory and auditory areas. This method also makes it possible to obtain data on the effectiveness of the prescribed therapy.

Course of the disease

Experts identify four types of the disease:

1. Remittent. The deterioration of the patient's condition is replaced by periods of remission, when symptoms become virtually invisible or disappear altogether. Relief can sometimes last for several years. The damaged areas of the brain during remission may fully or partially recover its performance.
2. Primary progressive. Since the beginning of the pathological changes in the patient's state of health is deteriorating. There are short episodes, for which there is a slight improvement. The patient suffering from this kind of multiple sclerosis, quickly loses its efficiency.
3. Secondary-progressive. At the beginning of the disease there is remittent course, which later turns into a progressive form.
4. Progressing with exacerbations. Against the background of a gradual deterioration of health complications observed short bursts, during which the patient is necessary not only treatment, but also in carrying out daily activities. Recovery periods of brain activity are absent.

In recent years, women are increasingly diagnosed atypical forms of pathology:

• Since the beginning at an early age (before age 16).
• First emerged after 45 years.
• Malignant - 2-3 years resulting in severe neurological changes that do not allow the patient to lead a normal life.
• Mild - preserve the ability to manage without assistance and do all possible to work for a long time. 20-25 years is replaced by a mild form of exacerbation of degenerative changes and progresses more rapidly than with a uniform flow of multiple sclerosis.

Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

Therapy is prescribed on an individual basis, after the diagnostic examination.

Standard treatment regimen comprises administering following medications:

• Sirdalud, Mydocalm - eliminate muscle spasms, paresis of the limbs.
• Phenazepam, Sibazon - relieve tremor, stabilize the mental condition.
• Galantamine, Neostigmine - eliminate the disorder mochispuskaniya process.
• Antelepsin, Finlepsin - used in convulsions.
• Paroksedin, fluoxetine - to help the patient get out of depression.
• Glycine, Nootropil, Cere - accelerate the cerebral circulation.

In addition, a specialist may recommend acceptance of such funds:

• cytostatics, Prevent the development of tumors.
• mitoxantroneThat slows down the rapid progression of multiple sclerosis.
• CopaxoneMaking symptoms less severe disease and prevents decay of myelin.
• corticosteroids - apply within 5 days of increased dosage. They allow you to shorten the period of acute and accelerate cell renewal. Drugs are administered into the blood through a dropper. Due to the short duration of treatment, serious side effects usually do not have time to manifest. Despite this, experts prescribe to patients taking hormones, drugs that reduce the sensitivity of the gastric mucosa (Omez, ranitidine).

The patient is helpful to attend sessions of therapeutic massage. This will eliminate the muscle spasms and normalize blood circulation. Contraindication for the procedure is osteoporosis. And to accelerate recovery and return urination, practiced acupuncture.

To maintain the body in good shape, you need to take vitamins:

• Thiamine - twice a day by 50 mg.
• Vitamin C - 2-4 times a day.
• Folic acid.
• Thioctic acid - twice a year courses of 60 days.
• Vitamin B complex - 50 mg daily.

In addition to primary treatment means may be used, made on the basis of natural ingredients:

• 5 g mumie dissolved in half a glass of warm water and boiled take 1 hour. l. 3 times a day. The remaining infusion should be poured in a tightly closable glass container and store in the refrigerator.
• Dried heather shoots well washed, mince or grind in a blender. 1 tbsp. l. finished feed add 0.5 liters of hot water, bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 8-10 minutes under the lid. Thereafter, the pan is removed from boards, wrap a towel, and after 3 hours to filter. You must take a means of morning and evening for one glass.
• Onions grate or mince. The resulting mass is wrapped in several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze the juice. A glass of onion juice you need to connect with 200 g of flower honey and consume on an empty stomach 3 times a day. Keep the weight should be in the refrigerator.

Currently, experts develop the latest methods of treatment of multiple sclerosis, some of which have already been tested in clinical trials.

For example:

• fullerene therapy - launches the nerve fiber regeneration.
• stem cells - block the destructive effect of T-lymphocytes.
• artificial liposomes - fat cells that strengthen the immune system and restoring nerve connections.

Forecast

Multiple sclerosis, the symptoms of which can not be eliminated completely, in the absence of supportive treatment can begin rapidly progressing. Effective therapy can prevent or delay the onset of disability that moment.

The risk of rapid development of complications is increased in the following cases:

• under the age of 15 and after 40 years;
• atrophic changes in the organs of vision;
• many symptoms indicating a significant defeat of the organs and systems.

Bring death are negative factors affecting the quality of life of the patient:

• festering sores and bedsores that infect internal organs through the bloodstream;
• mental disorder.

The following complications can lead to sudden death:

• cessation of renal function;
• respiratory arrest;
• infection of the urinary system;
• myocardial infarction.

For information on the effect of pregnancy, patients with multiple sclerosis woman in her condition are contradictory: in some cases the disease worsening, and in others - lasting remission. In the treatment of disease at an early stage and poor development of the characteristic signs of pathology favorable prognosis.

The life expectancy of people with multiple sclerosis

The achievements of modern medicine can significantly delay the onset of life-threatening complications of the disease that can be fatal. In the 60s of the patient with multiple sclerosis could not live more than 30 years, and today patients live 35 years or more. On average, the disease brings death man for 7 years.

Life expectancy depends on the age at which the pathology and of its flow has been detected:

1. The first group - Women young and middle age whose disease was diagnosed at an early stage. Taking all medications prescribed by the doctor, they can live for quite a long life and to die only 7 years earlier than healthy people.
2. The second group - Older women who have been diagnosed in 50 years. Effective therapy will enable them to live up to 70 years.
3. The third group - patients with high-risk pathology, diagnosed at the age of 50 years. Treatment can maintain their viability for 10 years.
4. The fourth group - people whose disease progresses with lightning speed. Typically, they die in less than 10 years after diagnosis.

Multiple sclerosis symptoms to be monitored in order to avoid complications, not a reason to refuse to monitor their health. To maintain good health you need to be outdoors, eat right, take vitamins. It advised to avoid procedures relating to the body by heating, and the use of too hot food and drinks.

The diet should be balanced and include daily consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, boiled or baked fish.

In the absence of complications, it is useful to engage in sparing sports or doing gymnastics. Help alleviate the condition reflexology, massage. Patients are encouraged to twice a year to undergo treatment in a sanatorium.

Faced with such diseases as multiple sclerosis, a variety of symptoms which in varying degrees accompany the patient to the end of life, you need to carefully monitor their health. Each patient should be once a year a survey to monitor the brain and the immune system. Every six months the need to make an appointment with an eye doctor, urology and gynecology.

Registration of the article: Lozinski Oleg

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