Like numerous types of cancers, there are types of multiple sclerosis as well, but the difference is on the basis of the progress of the disease and the extent to which it has affected body functions. Multiple Sclerosis is of four types: the first one is RRMS known as relapse remitting, the second one is PPMS known as Primary Progressive, the third one is SPMS secondary progressive MS, and fourth is PRMS known as progressive relapsing Multiple Sclerosis. Many patients who are diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis often are observed to have breakdown of the myelin sheath. This probably is the first step towards the disease, but there is no proper diagnosis at this stage. The next stage is detection through MRI in case it affects your brain and you experience pain or anything else. As there is no specific root cause of the disease, it is very unlikely that one can understand why certain patients suffer more severely from multiple sclerosis than others.
The first one is (RRMS) Relapsing-Remitting
As the name suggest, this type of multiple sclerosis patients undergo days where the symptoms of the disease would subdue and on others they would resurface again. The biggest mistake patients make is that they are thinking during one of these remitting phase that the disease perhaps is no more. This is not true, even if you are not experiencing the symptoms; you still need to take precautionary measures and do all that your doctor suggests. This type of multiple sclerosis is the most commonly occurring type. What happens during these phases of remitting also varies among patients, for some this may just mean a period where the symptoms are not active, whereas for others this can further worsen their condition once it relapses. Patients often record observation of new symptoms after a phase of remitting and for some it can even lead to increase in their disability. You can keep a record of this through MRI reports.
The next type is SPMS secondary progressive
Although there is no proof that cases of RRMS can over a period of time worsen to SPMS, but mostly patients who are initially diagnosed with RRMS do develop SPMS over time. As there is no treatment for multiple sclerosis, so once you are diagnosed with it, you have to live with it, and as time progresses, so does the disease, let’s say twenty or thirty years or even more for some patients.
The third type is PPMS primary progressive
It is one of the most difficult types of multiple sclerosis to diagnose as it affects the spinal cord as compared to brain, therefore cannot be detected in an MRI initially. Patients suffering from PPMS are the ones that often face extreme forms of disability as early as when the symptoms start showing. The fourth type of multiple sclerosis is known as PRMS primary relapsing and as the name suggests, patients suffer from periods of relapse and this type of multiple sclerosis is the lowest in terms of overall diagnosis percentage in patients. Contact Multiple Sclerosis Limited to find out more details.