Multiple Sclerosis Flashcards
Describe Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
A chronic and progressive inflammatory autoimmune disease of the CNS.
Immune system response results in attack on myelin sheathing which results in axonal damage.
What are brain biopsy findings of MS?
MS lesions are characterized by perivascular inflammation and demyelination.
Describe the differences between acute and chronic lesions in MS.
Acute lesions: infiltrates of immune system T cells, B cells, and macrophages
Chronic lesions: Demyelination and associated gliosis, with axonal damage.
Gray matter can also be involved even in the earliest stages but less so than WM involvement
In what age range and ethnicity is MS most likely to occur?
20-40, but can occur in younger individuals and up to the 8th decade of life
5% have onset prior to age 18
More common in Caucasians than minorities.
Describe the differences between women and men with regard to MS.
Women are more likely than men to develop the disease (2.5:1).
Men are more likely to develop destructive lesions and greater cog impairment.
Men are less likely to experience a primarily inflammatory response.
Does genetics contribute to the development of MS?
Yes. First degree relatives are 6-8 times more likely to develop the disease
Do rates of MS increases as you get farther from or closer to the equator?
Farther from the equator
What are environmental factors that contribute to the susceptibility of MS>
Onset of MS is thought to be a response to an environmental exposure that occurred many years prior.
Pediatric MS has been associated with Epstein-Barr virus.
Exposure to cigarette smoke may increase the risk.
Babies who are breast fed are less likely to develop MS later in life.
What percentage of patients with MS experience an average life expectancy?
90-95%
What factors are associated with severity in MS?
Younger age of onset= lower relapse rate and slower rate of disease progression
Racial and ethnic minorities less likely to contract MS but if they do it is a worse disease course
Lower levels of Vitamin D= higher relapse rate
Pregnant women with MS tend to experience fewer relapses and may notice improvement (may experience rebound after giving birth)
What is the role of cognitive reserve in MS?
Cognitive processing speed declines may be moderated by high cognitive reserve. Those with MS and high cog reserve may withstand greater neuropathology w/out showing information processing speed deficits.
How do you diagnose MS?
It is a diagnosis of exclusion.
Evidence of CNS lesions that are disseminated across brain areas and time.
- 2 or more objective clinical attacks w/ + MRI findings
- At least 1 T2 lesion in 2 of 4 areas: periventricular, juxtacortical, infratentorial, and spinal cord
- A new MRI lesion may establish disseimination in time regardless of time from baseline MRI
What cognitive changes typically occur very early in the disease and progress in later stages?
Processing speed, learning, and free recall
What considerations should be made when assessing a patient with MS?
Fatigue, slowed mental processing, and speech and upper extremity motor deficiencies
What are the most common initial motor and sensory changes?
- Optic neuritis: inflammation of optic nerve causing blurred vision (unilaterally)
- Somatosensory: 21-55% of early symptoms (parasethsias)
- Corticospinal tract: 32-41% of early sx, bladder and bowel dysfunction
- Cerebellar/brainstem: ataxia, speech problems, diplopia
- Fatigue: often the most disabling symptom and most common reason for unemployment. Exacerbated by heat
- Sleep: insomina, sleep disordered breathing, resltess leg syndrom
What is diagnosed if a person has one episode of a neurologic event similar to MS>?
Clinically Isolated Syndrome
Describes the first episode that lasts at least 24 hours and results from inflammation/demylenation. Can be monofocal or multifocal,
