Fatigue, anxiety, pain? They might be MS in disguise
The earliest warning signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) may emerge more than a decade before the first classical neurological symptoms occur, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.
Published on August 1 in JAMA Network Open, the study analyzed the health records of more than 12,000 people in British Columbia and found that those with MS began using healthcare services at elevated rates 15 years before their first MS symptoms appear.
The findings challenge long-held assumptions about when the disease truly begins, offering the most comprehensive picture to date of how patients engage with a range of healthcare providers in the years leading up to a diagnosis as they search for answers to ill-defined medical challenges.
"MS can be difficult to recognize as many of the earliest signs -- like fatigue, headache, pain and mental health concerns -- can be quite general and easily mistaken for other conditions," said senior author Dr. Helen Tremlett, professor of neurology at UBC's faculty of medicine and investigator at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. "Our findings dramatically shift the timeline for when these early warning signs are thought to begin, potentially opening the door to opportunities for earlier detection and intervention."
