United States: A few of the symptoms onset of multiple sclerosis may be suggestive of long-term disability incidence including visual blurring and sphincter dysfunction.
Some of the symptoms that worsened at the onset of the disease posed greater chances of severe disability in the longer run, according to research works.
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A new study has opened a new direction in understanding multiple sclerosis (MS) because new parameters for preliminary manifestation have been revealed to be associated with future disability.
The study presented in the current volume of Brain Medicine may significantly enhance understanding of the potential directions of early interventions and related therapeutic approaches in MS treatment.
Specifically, Dr. João Pedro F. Gonçalves from the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, and collaborators conducted an analysis of data from 195 MS patients and gave emphasis to symptoms at the first attack and functional results later, neurosciencenews.com reported.
This evidence contradicts some prior assumptions of the rate of progression of MS and suggests new paths to individualized therapies that the team identified.
According to Dr. Gonçalves, “Our research indicates that patients who experience acute blurry vision or sphincter dysfunction when first diagnosed with MS may be at higher risk for developing more severe disability over time,” neurosciencenews.com reported.
“This information could be crucial for healthcare providers in determining initial treatment strategies and monitoring protocols,” he added.
Findings of the study
Findings of the study Among patients with acute blurry vision at onset, there was a 20 percent increase in the odds of worse functional status, compared with those without blurry vision at onset.
Patients with sphincter dysfunction at onset had 24.5 percent higher odds of having a more severe level of disability as compared to patients with no sphincter dysfunction at all.
Unlike some of the past findings, other clinical manifestations such as acute paralysis and hypoesthesia were not considered as factors with worse long-term prognosis.
The Expanded Disability Status Scale, or EDSS was used in the study as a means of measuring disability in MS patients and is well known worldwide. Such an approach enabled the researchers to link early signs with the final functional state in an unmoulded fashion.