Fatigue, anxiety and pain? They may be multiple sclerosis in camouflage

Posted on August 1 in Jama open networkThe study analyzed health records of more than 12,000 people in British Columbia and found that those with multiple sclerosis began to use health care services at high rates 15 years before the symptoms of multiple sclerosis appeared.

The results of the long -standing assumptions are challenged when the disease begins, providing the most comprehensive image so far of how patients participate with a group of health care providers in the years before the diagnosis while searching for answers to unknown medical challenges.

“It can be difficult to identify multiple sclerosis because many early signs – such as fatigue, headache, pain and mental health – said it can be general and easy in other cases,” said Dr. Helen Tremlett, a professor of neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine and researchers at the Javad Mohawian Center for brain health. “The results we have greatly turned the schedule when these early warning marks are believed, which may open the door to the chances of detection and previous intervention.”

The study used clinical and administrative health data linked to tracking doctors ’visits within 25 years before the symptoms of multiple nervous sclerosis appeared, as determined by the neurologist through detailed medical history and clinical assessments.

It is the first study to examine the use of health care in the history of the clinical patient. Most of the previous studies have studied only trends in the five years to ten, which preceded the first patient event (such as vision problems) using administrative data. This is a later standard compared to the date determined by a neurologist for the beginning of symptoms.

The results revealed that, when compared to the general population, people with multiple sclerosis had a steady accumulation of health care participation over 15 years, with different types of doctors ’visits increased at distinct points in time:

• 15 years before the symptoms appeared: Visits to doctors of public practice increased, as did visits to any doctor for symptoms such as fatigue, pain, dizziness, and mental health, including anxiety and depression.
• 12 years ago: Visits to a psychiatrist increased.
• Eight to nine years ago: The visits of neurologists and ophthalmologists have increased, which can relate to issues such as foggy or eye pain.
• Three to five years ago: Emergency medicine and radiology visits have increased.
• One year ago: Doctors ’visits through multiple specialties reached their peak, including neuroscience, emergency and radiology.

“These patterns indicate that multiple sclerosis has a long and complex physical stage-where something happens below the surface but has not yet been announced in the name of MS,” said Dr. Marta Ruiz Igiro, a post-PhD fellow at the University of California at the University of California and the first author in the study. “We have now started only to understand what these early warning signs are, with issues related to mental health that seem among the oldest indicators.”

The study depends on the previous work of Dr. Tremlett and her team to characterize the early stages of multiple sclerosis, or the bridal stage, when the exact symptoms appear before the signs of the distinctive feature become known. Budra periods are firmly established in other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, where mood changes, sleep and constipation often years before the most knowledgeable kinetic symptoms such as tremors and hardening.

While researchers warn that the vast majority of people with general symptoms will not continue to develop multiple nerve sclerosis, they say that recognition and MS Prodrome can help one day accelerate diagnosis and improve patients.

“By identifying these previous red flags, we may ultimately be able to intervene soon – be it through monitoring, support or preventive strategies,” said Dr. Tremlett. “It opens new ways to research early vital indicators, lifestyle and other potential players that may be in playing during this pre -ignored stage of the disease.”