When it comes to Multiple Sclerosis history there are a few important facts to know. The first person to document MS was Dr. Jean Martin Charcot in 1868. However, the four different forms of MS weren’t actually described as standard until 1996. The forms that were described are as follows: progressive relapsing, primary progressive, secondary progressive, relapsing remitting. The reason these subgroups were identified by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to ensure accurate treatment and prognosis.
Long before Dr. Charcot’s work, a Dutch saint named Lidwina was the very first documented MS patient. At the time of her death in 1433 her condition was not recognized as MS. Another famous historic figure who had this disease was King George III who died in 1848. His disease was also not diagnosed as MS but it was through his collection of symptom descriptions that he kept in his diary that were later thought to suggest he had MS.
The key moment in MS history was when Dr. Charcot dissected the brain of one of his patients who had died and noticed that the patient had many lesions in her brain. Dr. Charcot called this illness sclerose en plaque. Later on, the discovery of myelin sheaths that exist around each nerve cell after the name for this disease was given was not immediately thought of as useful, but as technology improved, the understanding of this illness.
Facts on MS
Interesting facts on Multiple Sclerosis have been posted in numerous journals, pamphlets for the public, and sites across the web. Many of the basic facts are well-known by many people. Common facts include details of how more women are affected with MS than men, how over 400,000 people in the US are afflicted by MS, and how the life span of an individual isn’t decreased by the disease in a significant manner. Additional facts people should know about are that MS isn’t contagious, fatigue is a common symptom, countries further from the equator have a higher percentage of MS than those closer to the equator, and that MS isn’t an inherited disease.
Multiple Sclerosis history has been added to over the years and will most likely change in the many decades to come. Hopefully the future will bring about a cure for this autoimmune disease and eradicate it forever. Researchers are always working on finding medications for MS patients to reduce their disability caused by the progression of MS. It’s only a matter of time before a cure is finally found.
