Prognosis for MS

Some patients may be diagnosed soon after the disease appeared. For others, it may take years of misdiagnoses generated by the unpredictable symptoms that keep on coming and going. Most of the patients experience easy forms. But for the others, the disease leads to the loss of their abilities to write and even speak. MS relapses and remits on its own, so that an universal treatment does not exist.

The subtype of the disease is the one that gives the prognosis. It also depends on sex, race, age, early signs and a degree of disability. The development of modern medication and therapies for MS may allow some of the affected people to live a normal life. A series of methods that diminish the disabilities was lately discovered and it includes treatment for common aspects of disabilities such as pneumonia or a urinary tract infection, but also physical and speech therapy.

• - An early occurrence of MS determines the damaging process to progress slower. A more rapid progression of disability happens in people that develop MS later. The earlier the diagnose, better the prognosis of the disease is. MS affects more white than black people, but the black people mostly develop it later in life, so for them the prognosis is worse.
• - Persons with progressive forms, especially the first subtype encounter a more rapid disability. The primary progressive type requires about three times more than the relapsing – remitted form for wheelchairs or standing frames. Those with the relapsing – remitted form may never need to use such devices at all.
• - A relatively good prognosis is given by the early signs, such as sensory problems or visual loss; the difficulty to walk and a general weakness, on the contrary show a poor one. The elements needed for a good prognosis are: the apparition of only one symptom at the time and the rated progress or regress of the initial symptom.
• - There are persons that, even disabled, may still work for about 20 years after while other may never have relapses after the first one so that no kind of disability affects them. There is a relationship between the kind of disability shown after five years and the one that appeared after more then 15 years, so that 2/3 people's disabilities will be diminished after five years and will not suffer a decline for other ten years. These statistics were anterior to the treatment including interferon and other medications of his class that stops the progress for more than five years.

Despite some promising researches, at the moment the prognosis or the treatment's effect cannot be accurately established yet.