MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

HELLO my  intellectual readers hope all are doing great.Thank you for giving your precious time.The month of March is  known as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month so Today I am here with this  topic Multiple Sclerosis.

It was first recognised by French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot  in 1868.

MS refers to severely body impairing disease affecting the Central Nervous System. It is an autoimmune disease in which our immune system fight against our own tissue and try to kill and destroy it. Here the misrecognised antigen is our own myelin that is the sheath protecting the nerve fibre.

When myelin get destroyed by our own body system it lead to miscommunication between various body parts and brain that consequently lead to various disorders of posture and gait.

SYMPTOMS:

·       Numbness or pain in arms and legs

·       Prolonged diplopia: double vision

·       Tremors and slurred speech

·       Pain during eye movement and partial visibility loss

·       Fatigue and dizziness

·       Painful neck movement

·       Bowl and bladder function related complications

 

These symptoms further may lead to inability to stand ,speak and walk, depression, epilepsy resulting in partial to complete paralysis.

RISK FACTORS Etiology of MS is kind of unknown and unpredictable but major risk factors or who might be more prone to it:

·       Age:15-60 yrs age is more prone

    • Sex: Females have two times more probability compared to male
    • Particular Infections like that of Epstein Barr virus which cause monoucleosis.
    • Other existing disease like Diabetes Type 1, Thyroid disease etc
    • Climate :Countries of  temperate climate have reported more cases of MS
    • Race: White people especially of North European descent have recorded
large no of cases compared to other Asian and African races
    • Smoking: Non smokers compared to smokers record higher no of cases.

Treatment: There is no complete cure of MS but treatment focus on slow down progression and symptomatic relief to relieve from the symptoms. It includes:

Muscle relaxants

Plasmapharesis

Interferons

Physical therapy. Physiotherapy did wonders in reducing pain and improving Quality of life of MS patients.

DEEPTI M SATI

 

NEUROMUSCULAR CRISIS: MYASTHENIA GRAVIS

 

NEUROMUSCULAR CRISIS: MYASTHENIA GRAVIS

Hello my intellectual readers hope all are doing fine. Thanks for giving your few minutes, Today I am here with the new topic Myasthenia Gravis!

Myasthenia gravis is basically a kind of neuromuscular disorder. It is categorized as the autoimmune disease. Autoimmune disease occurs when our immune  system does not identify our host cells and take them as antigen. Body immune system tries to kill or damage its own body cells and tissue and consequently affect the organ and body.

In the case of Myasthenia gravis antibody produced invade neuromuscular junction affect the release of Acetylcholine which is the major neurotransmitter of the cholinergic system of our Autonomic nervous system and responsible for the proper communication between nerve and muscle. It can be defined as interference of communication between nerves and muscles.

It leads to beginning voluntary muscle weakness and fatigue  that varies in severity from person to person. It is a slow progressive disease that may  affect the whole body and leads to different symptoms affecting as follows:

Eye: drooping of one or both eye lids double vision (diplopia)

Face and throat Altered voice and speaking, difficulty in swallowing chewing and limited facial expressions

Pain in neck and limb muscles, difficulty in walking, using your arms and hand even holding head up.

Myasthenic crisis refers to condition when even muscles associated to breathing get affected. Person is not able to breath by its own. Emergency treatment involve mechanical assistance, medication and blood filtering techniques.

As in the case of all autoimmune disease treatment is always an invincible challenge. It can be controlled with drugs of class Anti Cholinesterase (Choline-esterase  inhibitor),  corticosteroids and immune-suppressants orally intravenous therapy include plasmapharesis and IV immunoglobulin therapy.

 

Deepti M Sati