Scientists from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver have found that anxiety and depression may be early signs of multiple sclerosis. The study was published in the journal Neurology.
In this disease, the immune system attacks myelin, the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers.
Researchers looked at data from more than 6,800 patients with multiple sclerosis in British Columbia and compared them with nearly 32,000 people without multiple sclerosis.
Scientists found that patients with multiple sclerosis suffered from mental illness at almost twice the rate of the general population. Psychiatric visits, medication use, and hospitalizations for psychiatric disorders were also consistently higher among patients with multiple sclerosis. At the same time, the symptoms became more pronounced closer to the detection of MS.
The research could lead to earlier diagnosis of MS and more effective treatment.
“It has long been thought that multiple sclerosis only really begins clinically when a person experiences their first demyelination event, such as vision problems. But we have come to understand that there is a period before these events when the disease manifests itself indirectly,” the authors noted in a university press release.
2023-10-01 12:03:46
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