Multiple Sclerosis Facts
In October 2000, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I tried looking up my MS questions for answers which lead me to different locations. So I decided I would just put all of the information I found gathered in one place to make it easier for the next MS victim.
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~The earliest known description of a person with possible Multiple Sclerosis dates from 14th century Holland
~Multiple Sclerosis is the most common progressive and disabling neurological condition in young adults
~Approx 2.5 million people worldwide, have Multiple Sclerosis
~Around 400,000 people in the United States have Multiple Sclerosis
~In the UK, approx 70,000 people have the disease
~Approx 50,000 people in Canada have Multiple Sclerosis
~Scotland has the highest incidence of Multiple Sclerosis per head of population in the world
~In Scotland, over 10,500 people have Multiple Sclerosis
~No virus has ever been isolated as the cause of Multiple Sclerosis
~Average age of clinical onset is 30 – 33 years of age
~The average age of diagnosis is 37 years of age
~The average time between clinical onset of MS and diagnosis by physicians is 4 - 5 years
~10% of cases are diagnosed after the age of fifty
~In 1936, only 8% of patients were reported to survive beyond 20 years after onset of illness
~In 1961, over 80% of Multiple Sclerosis patients were reported surviving to 20 years after onset of illness
~2002 – A patient with Multiple Sclerosis can expect to live to average population life-expectancy minus seven years (mean life expectancy - 7 years)
~Multiple Sclerosis is five times more prevalent in temperate climates than in tropical climates
~Multiple Sclerosis affects women much more frequently than men. Approx. 1.7 – 2:1 in the US and approx 3:2 in the UK
~The ratio of white to non-white is approx 2:1
~Gypsies and Inuit's do get Multiple Sclerosis although the incidence rate is much lower than other populations at approx 19 per 100,000
~Native Indians of North and South America, the Japanese and other Asian peoples have a very low incidence rate of Multiple Sclerosis
~In identical twins where one twin develops the disease, the likelihood of the second twin developing Multiple Sclerosis is approx 30%
~The incidence rate for non-identical twins, where one contracts Multiple Sclerosis, is approx 4%
~The risk of contracting Multiple Sclerosis if a first-degree relative (father, mother, sibling) has the disease, is approx 1% - 3% overall
~The risk of contracting Multiple Sclerosis if your father has the disease is approx 1 in 100
~The risk of contracting Multiple Sclerosis if your mother has the disease is approx 1 in 50
~The risk among the general population of contracting Multiple Sclerosis is approx 1 in 800
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