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Multiple Sclerosis

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Geriatric Diseases

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Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease. The usual age of onset is between 20 and 40 years. Late-onset multiple sclerosis (LOMS) is defined as the first presentation of clinical symptoms occurring after the age of 50 years. The two groups ‘adult-onset’ multiple sclerosis (AOMS) and ‘late-onset’ multiple sclerosis (LOMS) defer in their demographic, clinical characteristics, disease course and response to treatment. Multiple sclerosis is extremely protean in its expression and severity. Based on the clinical course, MS has been categorized into (i) relapsing remitting MS (RRMS), (ii) secondary progressive MS (SPMS), (iii) primary progressive MS (PPMS) and (iv) progressive-relapsing (PRMS). About 80% of LOMS are affected by PPMS. About 94% of the patients with AOMS had RRMS. The diagnosis is based on careful clinical evaluation of the patient with investigations including MRI, CSF and evoked potentials. Treatment can be divided into treatment of the relapses, long-term immunomodulatory treatment and symptomatic relief. Patients often require care from a multidisciplinary team of healthcare providers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Sydney, Westmead Clinical School, Westmead, NSW, Australia

    Nages Nagaratnam & Kujan Nagaratnam

  2. Rehabilitation and Aged Care Service, Blacktown-Mt Druitt Hospital, Mount Druitt, NSW, Australia

    Gary Cheuk

Authors
  1. Nages Nagaratnam
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  2. Kujan Nagaratnam
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  3. Gary Cheuk
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Nagaratnam, N., Nagaratnam, K., Cheuk, G. (2018). Multiple Sclerosis. In: Geriatric Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33434-9_36

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33434-9_36

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33433-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33434-9

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