Of the 350,000 Americans who have multiple sclerosis, only 70,000 take the drugs, experts say. The society is trying to get the message out that medications may have prevented you from having three attacks instead of just one. Multiple sclerosis occurs when the body's own immune system goes awry and attacks the nerves and brain, slowly stripping away the protective sheath coating nerve fibers. Over time, that damage builds up to cause muscle weakness or paralysis, fatigue, dim or blurred vision, memory loss and other cognitive problems. Time and amount of recovery between attacks varies.
Some people steadily worsen while others merely suffer mild weakness for decades.
There's no way to predict. The three drugs are not a cure. They don't reverse symptoms. But they do reduce the frequency and severity of attacks. Only about 70,000 MS patients take the drugs, Holland said.