Global actress Guta Stresser, 49, recently revealed that she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). The disease, which affects about 2.5 million people worldwide, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), is still the subject of much prejudice on the part of the public.
MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, mainly affecting the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
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It is a condition feared by everyone, but few people know for sure how to identify it, what its types are, what causes it and its main treatment methods.
According to data released by the Brazilian Multiple Sclerosis Association (ABEM), about 40,000 Brazilians are affected by the pathology.
On a global scale, it is estimated that approximately 2.8 million people are living with MS. This represents 1 in 3,000 adults.
In addition, every five minutes we diagnose a person with the disease, and access to complementary therapies faces barriers in 7 out of 10 countries where this occurs.
But what exactly is multiple sclerosis? How do your symptoms manifest? What are the ways to combat it? Does she have a cure? Is it possible to prevent it?
To clarify all the details on the topic, I prepared this article with the answers to these and other questions. follow up.
What is multiple sclerosis?
An autoimmune manifestation, multiple sclerosis occurs when the immune system itself attacks a structure in the body called the myelin sheath.
It is a kind of protection that covers the neurons, which when damaged ends up destroying or severely damaging the nerves.
As a result, communication between the brain and the rest of the body is compromised, generating variable symptoms, which change according to the volume and types of nerves affected.
Thus, the most common targets of this condition, called demyelination, include the brainstem, spinal cord, and optic nerves.
The most common symptoms are: tremors, muscle weakness, excessive fatigue and loss of movement and speech control.
The main age group subject to multiple sclerosis is adults between 18 and 55 years old, according to data released by the National Commission for the Incorporation of Technologies in the Unified Health System (CONITEC).
Returning to the information provided by ABEM, the association dedicated to Brazilian patients affected by the disease strongly emphasizes that its manifestation is not contagious, is not susceptible to prevention and does not consist of a mental pathology.
types of multiple sclerosis
Altogether, there are 4 types of multiple sclerosis. Now, see how each of them is characterized:
Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS): is the most common manifestation of the disease, accounting for more than 80% of cases. It tends to occur within the first few years of the first EM diagnosis and patients usually recover without sequelae. However, about half of people with RRMS develop the second type of sclerosis (described below) within 10 years;
Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (PSMS): in it, patients do not fully recover from the attacks and start to accumulate sequelae over the years. Problems with walking, permanent visual loss, and other disabling conditions are common;
Primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS): in this case, the attacks follow one another and gradually worsen;
Progressive Multiple Sclerosis with Relapses (EMPS): It is similar to the previous one, but MS occurs in a more aggressive way, thus compromising brain structures quickly during the process.
Main causes of multiple sclerosis
The demyelination autoimmune response occurs due to a failure in the immune system. Responsible for fighting infections, the defense cells act in the wrong way and start to recognize myelin as a threat, which leads to its attack.
However, despite being an already known process, multiple sclerosis has uncertain causes, but it is a consensus among experts that some factors are directly associated with its occurrence. Are they:
genetic factors
There are people with a predisposition to the disease. In addition, multiple sclerosis is believed to be hereditary, as 15% of patients have a close relative and 5% have a sibling with MS, according to data published in UOL.
environmental factors
Above all, low levels of vitamin D contribute to the emergence of MS, and this causes places with lower incidence of sun to have more cases of the disease. In addition, exposure to cigarette smoke also favors its development.
food factors
Although there is no consensus among the scientific community, there are signs that diets low in omega 3 and high in sodium contribute to the emergence of MS.
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