Berries & bananas
The health benefits of fruit
Issue 7 - May 2009
'MS hasn't got me''
It's the most common disabling neurological disease among young adults in the west. benhealth's Simon Weedy reports on multiple scleroris.
Microlighting, horse-riding and shooting: they aren't the sort of activities you'd associate with someone with multiple sclerosis (MS) - are they?
Well Tim Worner, 46, (pictured) does all three, and was diagnosed with MS eight years ago. His positive outlook is a wake-up call to anyone who thinks having MS means a life of misery confined to a wheelchair.
"I've got MS, but MS hasn't got me," says Tim defiantly, who admits he's far more active today than he could have imagined when diagnosed with primary progressive MS in 2001. "Yes I might end up in a wheelchair one day but I'm not planning on sitting around waiting for that to happen."
A complex neurological condition which affects the central nervous system, MS essentially impacts on the control of basic actions such as movement and balance. Symptoms are numerous and unpredictable, including (as in Tim's case) balance problems, pain, fatigue, and muscle spasms.
The exact cause of MS is not fully understood, although there is some evidence genetic and environmental factors are involved. MS can occur at any age but in most cases, symptoms are first seen between the ages of 20 and 40.
Tim's diagnosis followed a range of early symptoms including problems with his balance while walking. "I can also remember once when I was running after a shoplifter, I was stumbling and I didn't know why it was happening," says Tim, who previously worked as a supermarket manager. "I certainly had no inkling at all that it was anything serious."
It got to the point where Tim couldn't ignore what was happening and, after finally being referred to hospital by a GP, he went through a series of 'inconclusive' tests.
"There wasn't much more I could do at that point, but over the next few months my walking got a lot worse and it was my wife who pushed me to go back to the doctor, but still they couldn't say what was wrong."
Tim's recollection of how his early symptoms presented themselves will resonate with others who have primary progressive MS.
"Primary progressive is notoriously difficult to diagnose and so when I finally saw a specialist in London who was able to tell me I had MS, I was absolutely devastated," says Tim.
"I was only 39 at the time and started thinking about all sorts of things, not least how it would affect my job."
Tim was fortunate in that not only did he have his wife and close family to support him, his employers were also very understanding and provided much-needed support as he had no choice but to take early retirement from his job.
He also contacted the local branch of the MS Society to see what support was available and it opened up, in his words, 'a whole new world'.
"I realised that this was the time to start again, and get involved with doing things I'd never done before, and I started sailing, shooting and horse-riding, and even did some carriage-driving.
"It's given me a completely different outlook on life; living with a condition like MS isn't easy, you have bad days and good days, but my attitude now is just to go out and enjoy living."
Tim prefers to keep himself busy and active rather than rely on medication (which he uses only sparingly) to manage his condition, and he does have functional electrical stimulation treatment which helps with his mobility. He also has a 'fantastic' MS support network which includes specialist MS nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
MS is one of the main conditions covered by the government's National Service Framework (NSF) for Long Term (Neurological) Conditions, launched in 2005.
The Department of Health's (DH) recent publication of the national MS 'commissioning pathway', aimed at providing healthcare professionals with all of the information necessary for designing effective MS services based on people's individual needs, takes this further.
The DH has also worked with MS charities and other partners to encourage NHS staff and organisations across the country to share their own examples of good practice. These include an access scheme in London for helping people with MS back to work and a mother and toddler group in Manchester aimed at helping women under 40 who have MS - highlighting again how the condition affects all ages.
Tim is all too aware of the misconceptions around MS and says more should be done to promote awareness of the condition. "A lot of people don't understand MS, even the basics. I've met a lot of people who say they 'know someone' with MS who is in a wheelchair and it's almost as if they expect the same is going to happen to me.
"Yes it could happen but that's the last thing I am thinking about. I only have one life so I am living it as fully as I can for as long as I can."
MS - the research
New research has strengthened evidence of a link between vitamin D, the so-called 'sunshine vitamin', and the risk of developing MS. Scientists at Oxford University and the University of British Columbia have shown that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and the early years may increase the risk of the offspring developing MS later in life.
"Our study implies that taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and the early years may reduce the risk of a child developing MS in later life. Vitamin D is a safe and relatively cheap supplement with substantial potential health benefits. There is accumulating evidence that it can reduce the risk of developing cancer and offer protection from other autoimmune diseases," said lead author of the study Dr Sreeram Ramagopalan.
Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the MS Society which funded the research, said: "This discovery opens up new avenues of MS research, and future experiments will help put the pieces together."
MS - the facts
There are four types of MS:
relapsing/remitting: the most common type of MS, where people experience relapses (or attacks) followed by a period of remission
primary progressive: symptoms begin and steadily worsen, resulting in a continued progression in disability. There are no distinct relapses and remissions
secondary progressive: most people who have relapsing/remitting MS later develop a form known as secondary progressive MS. It's identified when the condition becomes steadily worse, and the disability progresses, for a period of six months or more, whether relapses continue or not
benign: a small number of relapses followed by a complete recovery is described as benign MS. It's only possible to diagnose benign MS after little or no disability for 10-15 years. However, benign MS does not guarantee a person will be free of problems; a relapse may occasionally occur after many years of inactivity.
