Here's what you'll need to know to assess for MS and manage exacerbations and complications. A progressive central nervous system disease, MS is characterized by exacerbations and remissions of widespread, varied neurologic dysfunction.
Symptoms reflect gradual demyelination of the white matter of the brain and spinal cord.
The cause of MS isn't known, but current theories include a slow-acting viral infection, an autoimmune response to the nervous system, or an allergic response to an infectious agent. Other possible causes include trauma, anoxia, toxins, nutritional deficiencies, vascular lesions, and genetic factors. Common complications Patients with MS may suffer urine retention and urinary tract infections, constipation, joint contractures, pressure ulcers, rectal distension, and pneumonia. As the disease advances, it may cause blindness, ataxia, incontinence, muscle atrophy, spastic paraplegia, hemiplegia, and complete paralysis. In the disease's early stages, diagnosis is based on eliminating other potential conditions and on clinical findings -for example, a history of neurologic dysfunction with remissions and exacerbations.