Mario Alberto Battaglia, president of Fism (Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation)
Multiple sclerosis, the most common autoimmune neurological disease
An average cost of six billion euros per year to provide care and assistance to around 140,000 patients who live with the disease in Italy: these are the numbers of multiple sclerosis, one of the main chronic degenerative and autoimmune neurological diseases that affects young adults. “One of the peculiarities of MS is that it lasts a lifetime, therefore the number of people affected must be multiplied over a period of about 40 years. An enormous burden for state coffers, which can only be reduced by investing in research”. It is Professor Mario Alberto Battaglia, president of the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (Fism), who paints the portrait of one of the main diseases of the central nervous system. The occasion is World Day dedicated to MS, today 30 May, the date on which the PortrAIts exhibition organized by Aism, the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association, will also be unveiled.
Portraits PortrAIts is an open air exhibit of portraits created with the support of Artificial Intelligence, starting from the stories of MS patients, each of whom has chosen to describe his invisible symptom in his own way. Objective: to reveal the difficulties that are faced in daily life. |
Professor Battaglia, can you give us the identikit of the multiple sclerosis patient?
He is a young person who is building a future for himself: in 50% of cases he is not yet 40 years old. As for gender, women are twice as affected as men. The causes of the disease are still unknown and to date there is no cure.
Are there any risk factors?
Research is spending a lot on this front, but we still don’t have certain answers. There could be viruses, like Epstein-Barr, that trigger the immune system.
What are the symptoms? Are they all visible?
In the collective imagination multiple sclerosis is associated with the wheelchair, but in reality there is a whole series of invisible symptoms that impact daily life and must therefore be managed in the best possible way, to allow the patient to be productive and integrated into society . Having a sensitivity disorder in the limbs creates huge motor problems, as well as a lack of balance. However, double vision can make it difficult to drive and work.
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