Some diagnoses sound like a sentence. Among these diseases is multiple sclerosis. This is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting the spinal cord and brain. The disease causes the destruction of nerve tissue, replacing it with scar tissue. Having heard the diagnosis, patients ask a variety of questions: is multiple sclerosis inherited, how is it manifested, how is it treated?
According to statistics, pathology takes second place for reasons of determining the disability of people aged 15 to 45 years. Multiple sclerosis with senile has nothing to do. The morphological basis of the disease is the formation of plaques - foci of myelin destruction in the white matter of the spinal cord and brain. The risk of developing an ailment is associated with belonging to a particular race, ethnic group.
At what age does
Pathology is most often diagnosed at a young age - from 15 to 45 years. This is a characteristic feature of sclerosis, distinguishing it from other neurological diseases. There are cases of pathology in children aged two years. In people over the age of fifty, sclerosis is rarely detected. The disease does not affect life expectancy.
Causes of pathology
The causes of the development of the disease have not been fully established, which often raises the question: is multiple sclerosis inherited?
In neurological practice, there are several basic theories that explain the cause of the disease:
- an infectious-allergic cause, the trigger factor of which is a viral infection, even without typical clinical manifestations;
- an autoimmune theory that claims that sclerosis occurs as a result of attacks by the immunocomponents of myelin (it is regarded as foreign);
- metabolic theory, suggesting the occurrence of an ailment against a background of metabolic and myelin synthesis disorders.
And what does genetics say, is multiple sclerosis inherited or not? According to the theory of predisposition, scientists were able to establish the presence of certain genes that increase the risk of developing sclerosis.
Radiation, the influence of toxic substances, the area of residence, injuries, frequent stresses, and depressive states lead to the formation of the ailment.
Clinical manifestations
When wondering if multiple sclerosis is inherited, people begin to look for answers to other questions, including clinical manifestations.
Symptoms of the disease are associated with focal lesions of the spinal cord and brain. It can be expressed by a decrease in strength in the limbs, and in severe cases, paralysis of the legs, arms.
The patient may experience paralysis of the cranial nerves: ocular, trigeminal, sublingual and facial. This may be a violation of sensitivity. Gait instability, tremor also occurs, coordination is disturbed. The severity of symptoms manifests itself depending on the degree of damage.
Symptoms of nerve damage include:
- rhythmic movements of the eyeballs;
- paralysis of the facial, trigeminal nerves;
- sex life changes;
- when performing even light physical movements, fatigue quickly occurs.
When multiple sclerosis is inherited by children, the first manifestations of the disease can be burning and showing in the limbs, which extends to the body.
Often the symptoms of sclerosis are disorders of the pelvic organs, manifested in the form of impaired stool, urination, and in the later stages, incontinence. Sometimes there is incomplete emptying of the bladder, which leads to the development of urological infections. Less common are problems associated with sexual function.
With multiple sclerosis, visual disturbances occur in the form of a decrease in its severity, changes in fields, blurred images, and color distortion. Damage to the optic nerve can lead to impaired contrast.
On the part of neuropsychology with multiple sclerosis, a decrease in intelligence occurs, behavior changes. Patients often experience a depressive state. In most cases, in parallel with decreased intelligence and underestimation of the severity of the condition, euphoria and disinhibition of behavior occur.
Multiple sclerosis is often transmitted by inheritance. Pathology proceeds in a chronic form, manifested by periods of prolonged remissions and progressive exacerbations.
Diagnostics
To know for sure whether multiple sclerosis is inherited by children, a number of diagnostic procedures are necessary. If pathology is suspected, differential diagnosis is carried out with other pathologies that have a similar clinical picture, diseases affecting the nervous system are excluded.
To clarify the diagnosis, an MRI is performed, individual potentials are measured, spinal fluid tests are performed.
To establish whether hereditary sclerosis is inherited or not, the doctor must exclude other probable causes. For this, blood tests are prescribed, including for biochemistry, and electromyography.
To accurately determine whether multiple sclerosis is inherited or not, immunological monitoring is carried out. Immunological status plays a large role in assessing the activity of pathological processes. In some cases, it helps to predict an improvement or deterioration.
Treatment methods
The treatment of pathology is individual and directly depends on the stage. The therapy is comprehensive, which is why doctors of various specialties take part in it: neurologist, neuropsychologist, ophthalmologist, urologist, immunologist and other specialists.
The prescribed treatment should include the following drugs:
- Means that have an overwhelming effect on the development of the disease. Most often, hormonal immunosuppressants are selected.
- Vitamins
- Drugs that improve metabolic processes.
- Antihistamines.
- Means for strengthening blood vessels.
At the same time, symptomatic therapy aimed at correcting the main clinical manifestations of sclerosis is included.
Complications
If the pathology is not treated in a timely manner, then it can lead to serious complications in the form of chronic pain syndrome, dysfunctions of the pelvic organs, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, neurosis.
In the later stages, a decrease in intellectual ability may occur, up to the development of dementia.
How often
Multiple sclerosis is a frequently diagnosed pathology. He ranks second among the causes of neurological disability among young people. According to statistics, there are 30 cases of the disease per 100,000 people.
Scientists have established a pattern: the farther from the equator, the more often sclerosis is diagnosed. So, in the northern latitudes per 100,000 people there are about 70 cases of detection of the disease. This is due to the lack of vitamin D produced by the body under the influence of sunlight.
In women, the disease is diagnosed more often than in men, but they tolerate it more easily.
Risk group
So far, scientists have not been able to accurately determine the cause of the pathology, which raises the question: is multiple sclerosis transmitted to children? In some cases, a hereditary factor in the occurrence of the disease is possible. If there are patients with sclerosis in the family, then closely related members may experience an ailment.
The risk group includes not only those individuals who may become ill due to a hereditary cause. It also includes those who have foci of chronic infection, living in areas of the North, people exposed to strong psycho-emotional stress.
Prevention
The prevention of sclerosis is aimed at slowing the progression of pathological processes:
- Normalization of the psychoemotional state.
- Performing prescribed physical activities.
- Prevention of infectious ailments.
- Women are advised to protect themselves from pregnancy, as it can provoke an exacerbation of sclerosis.
Carrying out preventive measures, you can achieve a stable remission.
Lifestyle
Knowing whether multiple sclerosis is inherited, it is necessary to change the way of life, monitor nutrition, mood. Patients and people at risk are recommended to eat only foods rich in vitamins, refuse fast food, and timely treat emerging infections. Be sure to normalize the psychological climate.
As a prophylaxis, alcohol, smoking, the use of hormonal contraceptives should be abandoned. An important factor in the prevention of progression and the onset of the disease is weight normalization, massage, swimming. Do not overheat. To improve the emotional state, it is recommended to do yoga or meditation.
As a rule, people with young and middle age (15-45 years old) suffer from multiple sclerosis. Scientists did not succeed in establishing exactly what causes the pathology, but there are a number of theories that help suggest what the disease can provoke. This can be not only heredity, but also the territory of residence: it is believed that the risk of an ailment is higher in those areas where there is little sunlight. The most important factor in the development of the disease is the body's immune response to its own cells in the spinal cord and brain.