Multiple sclerosis Health Dictionary

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Multiple Sclerosis: From 4 Different Sources

Or disseminated sclerosis. A brain and spinal cord disorder with damage to nerve sheaths. Nerve fibres are protected by a sheath known as myelin. Like an electrical flex, it insulates nerve structures. When damaged in different places, demyelination shows in the form of ‘plaques’ which interfere with transmission of nerve impulses and tissue nutrients. Symptoms depend upon the particular nerves affected. Not all cases present a consistent symptom picture but generally include: pins and needles in arms or legs, muscle cramps, weakness of legs, walking difficulties, “always tired”, urinary bladder problems, blurring of vision, clumsy movements, vertigo.

As described by the French physician, Charcot, over 100 years ago, it is not infectious. Symptom-free periods may extend for months, even years, though relapses may be triggered by emotional crises, physical injury, the contraceptive pill, influenza and other infections.

While the cause is unknown, some studies have revealed a link between the disorder and the distemper virus in dogs. Others have linked the disease with mercury toxicity from amalgam dental fillings shown to generate electromotive forces which propel ionised mercury particles into the body from teeth. A further link is persistent infective sinusitis.

MS is high in families that eat excessive meat fat, butter and dairy products but with too little vegetable fat (corn, Soya, sunflower oil, etc). Linoleic acid levels in the blood of MS patients are abnormally low, especially during relapse. (Schwartz JH, Bennett B. Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol 45; 899-904, 1973) Evening Primrose oil is claimed to make up the deficiency. Ethnic peoples with a diet wholly of fish (Eskimos) seldom develop this disease.

While cure is not possible, herbal medicine may in some cases arrest deterioration. Treatment of severe nerve conditions should be supervised by neurologists and practitioners whose training prepares them to recognise serious illness and to integrate herbal and supplementary intervention safely into the treatment plan.

Nerve sheaths require calcium; herbs to increase its levels: Oats, Lobelia, Horsetail.

Evening Primrose oil makes good a deficiency of linoleic acid (Vitamin F) for efficient function of the brain.

Alternatives:– Tablets/capsules. Black Cohosh, Cramp bark, Prickly Ash, Skullcap, Ginseng.

Formula. Ginkgo 2; Prickly Ash 1; Black Cohosh; Ginger quarter. Dose: Liquid Extracts: one 5ml teaspoon. Tinctures: two 5ml teaspoons. Powders: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon). Thrice daily.

Formula, for pain. Lobelia 1; Ladyslipper 1; Ginger quarter. Dose: Liquid Extracts: 30-60 drops. Tinctures: one 5ml teaspoon. Powders: 250-500mg.

Rue tea. Traditional remedy for MS.

Evening Primrose: 4 × 500mg capsules, daily.

Aromatherapy. Spinal massage. 10 drops oils of Rosemary and Lavender in egg-cup Almond oil (or other vegetable oil).

Purslane herb. A rich source of non-fish EPA – suitable for a vegetarian approach.

Diet. A diet rich in essential fatty acids appears to arrest deterioration. (MS Unit, Central Middlesex Hospital, London)

High protein, low fat with oily fish. Lecithin. Sugar-free. Gluten-free (see Gluten diet). Cholesterol- free (avoid milk and dairy products). Grape juice. Dandelion coffee. One tablespoon Cod Liver oil daily. Red beet. Vegetable oils (safflower, sunflower, etc). Avoid coffee and caffeine stimulants.

Vitamins. Dismutase enzymes (see entry). B-complex, B3, B6. Vitamin C, 500-1000mg. Vitamin E, 200iu. Daily. Some authorities advise maximum dosage of Vitamin B12.

Minerals. Dolomite. Manganese. Zinc.

Information. Multiple Sclerosis Society, 25 Effie Road, London SW6 1EE, UK. Send SAE. 

Health Source: Bartrams Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine
Author: Health Encyclopedia
A progressive disease of the central nervous system in which patches of myelin in the brain and spinal cord are destroyed. Multiple sclerosis (or ) is an autoimmune disorder, in which the immune system attacks the myelin sheath that covers some nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Affected nerves cannot conduct nerve impulses, so functions such as movement and sensation may be lost. Any area of the body can be affected. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to paralysis and incontinence.

Attacks of symptoms are followed by a variable period of remission, in which dramatic improvements may be made.

Women are more likely to develop than men, and there may be a genetic factor, as the disease sometimes runs in families. There may also be an environmental factor, as is more common in temperate zones than in the tropics.

Symptoms usually develop early in adulthood. Spinal cord damage may cause tingling, numbness, weakness in the extremities, spasticity, paralysis, and incontinence. Damage to white matter (myelinated nerves) in the brain may cause fatigue, vertigo, clumsiness, muscle weakness, slurred speech, blurred vision, numbness, weakness, or facial pain.

Attacks may last several months. After a variable remission period, a relapse occurs, which may be precipitated by injury, infection, or stress. Some people have mild relapses and long periods of remission, with few permanent effects. Some people become gradually more disabled from the first attack. A few suffer gross disability within the 1st year.

There is no single diagnostic test, but MRI may show damage to white matter in the brain. Evoked response tests on the eyes also provide strong evidence.

There is no specific treatment.

Some people claim that dietary modifications such as sunflower or evening primrose oils are beneficial.

In some cases, interferon beta can extend the time between attacks and reduce the rate of decline.

Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association
A chronic, usually progressive disease of the central nervous system, with the gradual patchy disorganization of the protective myelin cells. It is almost certainly an auto-immune disorder, although viral infections sometimes seem to initiate the condition, and physical trauma is often seen to anomalously precede the first symptoms.
Health Source: Herbal Medical
Author: Health Dictionary
(MS, disseminated sclerosis) a chronic disease of the nervous system affecting young and middle-aged adults. The *myelin sheaths surrounding nerves in the brain and spinal cord are damaged, which affects the function of the nerves involved. The course of the illness is usually characterized by recurrent relapses followed by remissions, but a proportion of patients run a chronic progressive course. The disease affects different parts of the brain and spinal cord, resulting in typically scattered symptoms. These include unsteady gait and shaky movements of the limbs (ataxia), abnormal eye movements (e.g. *nystagmus and internuclear *ophthalmoplegia), defects in speech pronunciation (dysarthria), spastic weakness, and *retrobulbar neuritis. The underlying cause of the nerve damage remains unknown, but an autoimmune process may be involved. Steroid treatment may be used in an acute relapse. *Interferon beta and *glatiramer acetate given by regular self-administered injections reduce the relapse rate by 30% in some patients. Newer monoclonal antibody treatments are also available.
Health Source: Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary
Author: Jonathan Law, Elizabeth Martin

Sclerosis

This term means literally hardening, and is applied to conditions in which portions of organs harden and lose their function as the result of an excessive production of CONNECTIVE TISSUE. The term is especially applied to a change of this type taking place in the nervous system. (See MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)).... sclerosis

Tuberous Sclerosis

Also called epiloia: a rare inherited disease transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. EPILEPSY in childhood is often the ?rst manifestation (see INFANTILE SPASMS), although ovoid hypopigmented macules (‘ash leaf patches’) in the skin may be detected in infancy. Later an ACNE-like eruption of the face (adenoma sebaceum), ?brous outgrowths around the nails and ?brous plaques on the lower back (shagreen patch) can all occur. Half of those affected have learning diffculties and behaviour problems, and autistic symptoms may occur (see AUTISM).

Characteristic white streaks appear on the optic fundi (see EYE). Molecular genetic testing can identify up to 90 per cent of individuals with a tuberin gene. Genetic counselling of families is helpful. Relatives of those with this condition can obtain help and guidance from the Tuberous Sclerosis Association of Great Britain.... tuberous sclerosis

Disseminated Sclerosis

See MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS).... disseminated sclerosis

Multiple Personality Disorder

The individual with this psychiatric disorder has two or more di?erent personalities, often contrasting. The dominant personality at the time determines the behaviour and attitude of the individual, who customarily seems not to know about the other personality – or personalities. The switch from one personality to another is abrupt and the mental condition of the di?ering personalities is usually normal. It is possible that child abuse is a factor in the disorder, which is treated by psychotherapy. The classic multiple personality was the ?ctional form of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.... multiple personality disorder

Systemic Sclerosis

Also known as scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disorder that can affect many organs and tissues, particularly the skin, arteries, kidneys, lungs, heart, gastrointestinal tract, and

joints. The condition is 3 times as common in women and is most likely to appear between the age of 30 and 50.

The number and severity of symptoms varies. The most common symptom is Raynaud’s phenomenon. Also common are changes in the skin, especially of the face and fingers, which becomes shiny, tight, and thickened, leading to difficulty with movements. Other parts of the body may also be affected, leading to difficulty in swallowing, shortness of breath, palpitations, high blood pressure, joint pain, or muscle weakness. Progression of scleroderma is often rapid in the first few years and then slows down or even stops. In a minority of people, degeneration is rapid, and leads to death from heart failure, respiratory failure, or kidney failure.

There is no cure for scleroderma, but many of the symptoms can be relieved.... systemic sclerosis

Multiple Births

Twins occur about once in 80 pregnancies, triplets once in 6,000, and quadruplets about once in 500,000. Quintuplets are exceedingly rare. Such is the natural state of a?airs.

In recent years, however, the position has been altered by the introduction of the so-called fertility drugs, such as CLOMIPHENE, and human menopausal gonadotrophin which, through the medium of the PITUITARY GLAND, stimulate the production of ova (see OVUM). Their wide use in the treatment of INFERTILITY has resulted in an increase in the number of multiple births, a recognised hazard of giving too large a dose.

Twins may be binovular or uniovular. Binovular, or fraternal, twins are the result of the mother’s releasing two ova within a few days of each other and both being fertilised by separate spermatozoa (see SPERMATOZOON). They both develop separately in the mother’s womb and are no more alike than is usual with members of the same family. They are three times as common as uniovular, or identical, twins, who are developed from a single ovum fertilised by a single spermatozoon, but which has split early in development. This is why they are usually so remarkably alike in looks and mental characteristics. Unlike binovular twins, who may be of the same or di?erent sex, they are always of the same sex.

So far as fraternal, or binovular, twins are concerned, multiple pregnancy may be an inherited tendency; it certainly occurs more often in certain families, but this may be partly due to chance. A woman who has already given birth to twins is ten times more likely to have another multiple pregnancy than one who has not previously had twins. The statistical chance of a third pair of twins is 1:512,000. Identical twins do not run in families.

The relative proportion of twins of each type varies in di?erent races. Identical twins have much the same frequency all over the world: around 3 per 1,000 maternities. Fraternal twins are rare in Mongolian races: less than 3 per 1,000 maternities. In Caucasians they occur two or three times as often as identical twins: between 7 (Spain and Portugal) and 10 (Czech and Slovak Republics and Greece) per 1,000 maternities. They are more common in Afro-Caribbeans, reaching 30 per 1,000 maternities in certain West African populations.

Rarely, uniovular twins may not develop as separate individuals, being physically joined in some way. They are called conjoined or (traditionally) Siamese twins. Depending on the extent of common structures shared by the infants – this ranges from a common umbilical cord to twins with conjoined heads or a common liver – the infants may be successfully separated by surgery. (See CONJOINED TWINS.)

Parents of twins, triplets, etc. can obtain advice and help from the Twins and Multiple Births Association (TAMBA).... multiple births

Multiple Risk / Causation

More than one risk factor for the development of a disease or other outcome is present and their combined presence results in an increased risk. The increased risk may be due to the additive effects of the risks associated with the separate risk factors, or to synergism.... multiple risk / causation

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

See motor neuron disease.... amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Multiple Personality

A rare disorder in which a person has 2 or more distinct personalities, each of which dominates at different times. The personalities are usually very different from each other.... multiple personality

Multiple Pregnancy

See pregnancy, multiple.... multiple pregnancy

Myeloma, Multiple

See multiple myeloma.... myeloma, multiple

Pregnancy, Multiple

The presence of more than 1 fetus in the uterus. Multiple pregnancy can occur if 2 or more ova (eggs) are fertilized at the same time, or if a single fertilized egg divides early in development.

Twins occur in about 1 in 80 pregnancies, triplets in about 1 in 8,000, and quadruplets in about 1 in 73,000.

Multiple pregnancies are more common in women who are treated with fertility drugs or if a number of fertilized ova are implanted during in vitro fertilization.... pregnancy, multiple

Hereditary Multiple Exostoses

see exostosis.... hereditary multiple exostoses

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia

(MEN) see MENS.... multiple endocrine neoplasia

Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome

(MODS, multi-organ failure, multiple organ failure, MOF) a common cause of death following severe injury, overwhelming infection, or immune deficiency states.... multiple organ dysfunction syndrome

Multiple Sclerosis (ms)

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive disease of the BRAIN and SPINAL CORD, which, although slow in its onset, in time may produce marked symptoms such as PARALYSIS and tremors (see TREMOR), and may ultimately result in a severely disabled invalid. The disorder consists of hardened patches, from the size of a pin-head to that of a pea or larger, scattered here and there irregularly through the brain and spinal cord. Each patch is made up of a mass of the CONNECTIVE TISSUE (neuroglia), which should be present only in su?cient amount to bind the nerve-cells and ?bres together. In the earliest stage, the insulating sheaths (MYELIN) of the nerve-?bres in the hardened patches break up, are absorbed, and leave the nerve-?bres bare, the connective tissue being later formed between these.

Cause Although this is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system in Europe – there are around 50,000 affected individuals in Britain alone – the cause is still not known. The disease comes on in young people (onset being rare after the age of 40), apparently without previous illness. The ratio of women-to-men victims is 3:2. It is more common in ?rst and second children than in those later in birth order, and in small rather than big families. There may be a hereditary factor for MS, which could be an autoimmune disorder: the body’s defence system attacks the myelin in the central nervous system as if it were a ‘foreign’ tissue.

Symptoms These depend greatly upon the part of the brain and cord affected by the sclerotic patches. Temporary paralysis of a limb, or of an eye muscle, causing double vision, and tremors upon exertion, ?rst in the affected parts, and later in all parts of the body, are early symptoms. Sti?ness of the lower limbs causing the toes to catch on small irregularities in the ground and trip the person in walking, is often an annoying symptom and one of the ?rst to be noticed. Great activity is shown in the re?ex movements obtained by striking the tendons and by stroking the soles of the feet. The latter re?ex shows a characteristic sign (Babinski sign) in which the great toe bends upwards and the other toes spread apart as the sole is stroked, instead of the toes collectively bending downwards as in the normal person. Tremor of the eye movements (nystagmus) is usually found. Trembling handwriting, interference with the functions of the bladder, giddiness, and a peculiar ‘staccato’ or ‘scanning’ speech are common symptoms at a later stage. Numbness and tingling in the extremities occur commonly, particularly in the early stages of the disease. As the disease progresses, the paralyses, which were transitory at ?rst, now become con?rmed, often with great rigidity in the limbs. In many patients the disease progresses very slowly.

People with multiple sclerosis, and their relatives, can obtain help and guidance from the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Another helpful organisation is the Multiple Sclerosis Resources Centre. Those with sexual or marital problems arising out of the illness can obtain information from SPOD (Association to Aid the Sexual and Personal Relationships of People with a Disability). (See APPENDIX 2: ADDRESSES: SOURCES OF INFORMATION, ADVICE, SUPPORT AND SELFHELP.)

Treatment is di?cult, because the most that can be done is to lead a life as free from strain as possible, to check the progress of the disease. The use of INTERFERON beta seems to slow the progress of MS and this drug is licensed for use in the UK for patients with relapsing, remitting MS over two years, provided they can walk unaided – a controversial restriction on this (expensive) treatment. CORTICOSTEROIDS may be of help to some patients.

The NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE (NICE) ruled in 2001 that the use of the drugs interferon beta and glatiramer acetate for patients with multiple sclerosis was not cost-e?ective but recommended that the Department of Health, the National Assembly for Wales and the drug manufacturers should consider ways of making the drugs available in a cost-e?ective way. Subsequently the government said that it would consider funding a ‘risk-sharing’ scheme in which supply of drugs to patients would be funded only if treatment trials in individuals with MS showed that they were e?ective.

The Department of Health has asked NICE to assess two CANNABIS derivatives as possible treatments for multiple sclerosis and the relief of post-operative pain. Trials of an under-thetongue spray and a tablet could, if successsful, lead to the two drugs being available around 2005.

It is important to keep the nerves and muscles functioning, and therefore the patient should remain at work as long as he or she is capable of doing it, and in any case should exercise regularly.... multiple sclerosis (ms)

Multiple System Atrophy

(MSA) a condition that results from degeneration of cells in the *basal ganglia (resulting in *parkinsonism), the *cerebellum (resulting in *ataxia), the *pyramidal system, and the *autonomic nervous system (resulting in symptoms of autonomic failure, such as postural hypotension).... multiple system atrophy

Multiple Myeloma

Also called myelomatosis, multiple myeloma is a rare, cancerous condition in which plasma cells in the bone marrow proliferate uncontrollably and function incorrectly. It occurs in middle- to old age.

Plasma cells are a type of B-lymphocyte that produce immunoglobulins, which help protect against infection. In multiple myeloma, the proliferating plasma cells produce excessive amounts of one type of immunoglobulin, while production of other types is impaired. This makes infection more likely.Proliferation of the abnormal cells causes pain and destroys bone tissue.

Affected vertebrae may collapse and compress nerves, causing numbness or paralysis. Blood calcium levels increase as bone is destroyed, as may the level of one or more immunoglobulins. These changes in the blood may damage the kidneys, leading to kidney failure. There may also be anaemia and a tendency for abnormal bleeding.

The disease is diagnosed by a bone marrow biopsy, by blood tests or urinalysis, and by X-rays. Treatment includes the use of anticancer drugs, radiotherapy, and supportive measures, including blood transfusions, antibiotic drugs, and analgesic drugs.... multiple myeloma


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