Doctors have identified a few major types of MS. The categories are important, because they help predict how severe the disease can be and how well treatment will work.
Most people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a type called relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). It usually starts in your 20s or 30s.
Make sure you get the facts and stay clear of the many myths that surround the disease.
Research suggests that sooner is better with RRMS treatment. One study shows that people who began treatment as soon as their first symptoms started were 35% less likely to have a repeat attack.
It's important to track your symptoms so you know when your MS progresses.
If you have relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), you'll have to prepare for the times your symptoms flare up and periods when they quiet down.
There are a lot of changes you can make to your home that will make life with RRMS simpler and safer.
If you go to all of your scheduled visits and follow your treatment plan, you can slow your disease and keep your symptoms under good control for a long time.
A few simple lifestyle changes can help you stay mobile and have a good quality of life for a long time.
Between these flare-ups, you have phases of recovery, called remissions. They might last a few weeks, several months, or longer.
RRMS eventually will turn into secondary progressive MS (SPMS). In this stage, you might still have relapses between attacks. But you have fewer breaks between those flare-ups. Your symptoms usually get worse, too.
Frequently asked questions about secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, answered.
In SPMS, your symptoms steadily get worse instead of coming and going. You might still have relapses, but they don't happen as often.
Once you switch over from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), you may need to adjust your treatment plan.
Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) can have a big impact on your life, including on your emotions.
If your doctor says you have clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) -- a condition with the same symptoms as multiple sclerosis (MS) -- you may have a lot of questions swirling around your mind. The main one might be, "Do I have MS or not?"
If you have primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), you probably first saw a doctor because your legs were weak or you had trouble walking. Those are the most common symptoms of this type of MS.
Neurologists, or doctors who study the brain and nervous system, consider MS benign if you’ve maintained most of your body’s ability to function after having MS for several years.
Symptoms of late-onset multiple sclerosis are often mistaken for signs of normal aging.
Myelocortical multiple sclerosis (MCMS) is a new subtype of multiple sclerosis (MS). It’s the first kind of MS known to cause nerve cell loss without damaging the myelin in your cerebral white matter.
Tumefactive MS is a rare type that causes a tumor-like growth in the brain. Symptoms are similar to what happens with brain tumors.