Everything you need to know about multiple sclerosis

The participant “Israel’s next star for Eurovision” (new episode on Tuesday, Keshet 12) Maya Rose raised the curtain last night (Sunday) and received a lot of praise from the judges and the audience in the studio. Just before she went on stage, Maya shared about the medical diagnosis that changed her life in the last year.

“I realized that I wanted to get pregnant, and then the Iranian attack came. After running to the shelter, I started getting swelling on my left leg that slowly got worse,” recalls the 29-year-old singer. “It also reached my pelvis and right leg, my husband took me to the ER in a wheelchair. It turns out I had a multiple sclerosis attack, I didn’t know it was something I had. The steroids fixed it, I’m fine and I’m walking,” she shared.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease, the name of which you have probably heard many times. In order to better understand the disease in all its aspects and to sort out the perceptions that are common among the general public, we gathered with the help of Anat Ilon, founder and chairman of the board of directors of MS Israel, some interesting and surprising facts:

Multiple sclerosis is not called that because it is widespread in the world but because its lesions are common in all parts of the central nervous system. It got its name from the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot in 1868 when he first lectured on the properties of sclerosis. At the same time, the prevalence of multiple sclerosis is increasing every year, and today there are over 2 million patients in the world and thousands of patients in Israel. But the prevalence of the disease varies from country to country and in fact it increases as we move away from the equator. One explanation is that this is related to the production of vitamin D, which among multiple sclerosis patients, a lack of which is quite common. Since this vitamin is produced in our bodies with the help of the sun’s rays, the assumption is that in northern or southern countries in particular, where exposure to the sun is relatively low compared to the equatorial region, we will find residents with lower levels of vitamin D and a higher prevalence of multiple sclerosis.

As mentioned, there is a connection between vitamin deficiency “This is the million dollar question”, says Anat Ilon, founder and chairman of the board of MS Israel. “It is impossible to put your finger on the cause of the disease, because in the case of multiple sclerosis it is unknown. There are other diseases where it is different. We know, for example, that if you stop smoking, you lower the risk of getting lung cancer. In MS, the only certainty is uncertainty. But the truth of the matter is that what is important is not what causes the disease, but what we do with it next, and today we have good ways to deal with it thanks to the new variety of drugs and a way of being careful about the treatments and maintaining a balanced lifestyle.”

In the past, for decades and even throughout their lives, multiple sclerosis patients were not diagnosed with their disease. One of the ways to diagnose multiple sclerosis in the 19th century and into the 20th century, was the ‘hot bath’ test. The test was based on a common phenomenon among patients, who experience worsening symptoms when the body temperature rises. The test included lying in a bathtub full of hot water, and when the bathtub worsened the neurological symptoms, it was evidence of the presence of multiple sclerosis. Today, however, various tests such as MRI in combination with the patient’s complaint can provide an unequivocal diagnosis of the disease. “Since the symptoms can be numerous and not always clear, the investigation usually begins with a family doctor or an orthopedist – who will not necessarily refer patients to a neurologist,” says Elon. “Therefore, in case of symptoms and complaints, it is important for the patient to know how to ask for a referral to a neurologist who specializes in multiple sclerosis, thus shortening the diagnosis process and getting treatment sooner.”

More and more women are suffering from the disease

To this day, studies are trying to understand why the disease is more common in women, and whether it is related to differences in the immune system, the nervous system or the hormonal system, or perhaps it is genetic differences or lifestyle differences between men and women. . “In the past, women with multiple sclerosis were advised not to get pregnant during the disease period. Today we know in general that the pregnancy period can calm down the sclerosis, so there is no fear of giving birth. It is important to note that statistically there is a risk of worsening after childbirth, but it will not necessarily occur,” explains Elon.

“It is important to understand that multiple sclerosis is not a terminal disease,” says Elon, “the use of the combination ‘incurable’ may sound as if it is a disease from which one dies, but the meaning is that the disease still does not have a cure that can cure its patients.” Indeed, studies show that multiple sclerosis has a slight effect on life expectancy and is due to complications of the disease. However, the more you advance and the more you persevere in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and its symptoms, the longer the life expectancy and the higher the quality of life.

Multiple sclerosis has several forms, and perhaps the most common is relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). This type of sclerosis is characterized by attacks of neurological symptoms that appear without warning, and is often accompanied by a period of relaxation that can last months or even years between attacks. Another form of the disease, which appears in some patients over the years, is called ‘secondary persistent multiple sclerosis’ (SPMS). In these patients, the attacks usually decrease, but the neurological damage accumulates and the chances of disability increase. “It is important to understand that there is no linear line here, and most patients with sclerosis will not need a wheelchair. I have lived with multiple sclerosis for 30 years and I work full time, and am completely active,” says Elon.

Until the middle of the last century there was no effective treatment for the disease. Therefore, doctors relied on trial and error and tested various methods to treat the disease, such as treating poisonous plants using the belladonna plant, treating metals such as arsenic and mercury, and injecting malaria parasites. Despite all the trials and hopes, none of these really helped, and in many cases these treatments even caused great suffering to the patients. It was only in the 1950s that steroid treatment began, which managed to bring the duration and intensity of the attacks under control, but their treatment included very serious side effects. Today, when the mechanism of the disease is already known and with the medical progress that has gained momentum in recent years, there is a variety of treatments that can not only reduce the number of attacks and their intensity, but also slow down the rate of progression of the disease and actually improve the quality of life of the patients. Therefore, it is advisable to start treatment as early as possible, and adjust the correct treatment according to the patient’s condition or complaints.

Apart from the medical treatments that may delay the progression of the disease and alleviate the accompanying symptoms, there are other ways that can improve the quality of life of patients such as behavioral therapy, dietary changes, physical activity, and the like. One of the studies showed that learning a second language can improve cognitive skills among multiple sclerosis patients. Another study done several years ago showed that ballroom dancing can improve function. “After a severe attack that I experienced about five years ago, I decided to start dancing. At the time, I didn’t know how much it would affect me, and today I can say that dancing contributed to my stability, to holding my body, to strengthening my muscles, to flexibility, to the perception of space and to my balance,” says Elon.

In conclusion, multiple sclerosis, which for decades was a mystery and caused a great deal of frustration on the part of both doctors and caregivers, has become in the last decades, and especially in the last 15 years with the introduction of personalized medicine, a disease that can be treated, delay the deterioration and live with it for many years with a good quality of life. There is no doubt that there are still many questions that remain open in the study of the disease, but science does not stop looking for answers, and knowledge about the disease is accumulating.