Primary Progressive Multiple
Sclerosis or Primary Progressive MS (also called
progressive ms) tends to be more characterized by a more gradual progression of
the disease from when this form of MS first begins to appear. It does not
appear that Progressive MS has the
relapses or form of remissions that tend to appear in Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis
Primary Progressive MS tends to periodically have a more
leveling off effect of the disease progression or activity. The person with this type of MS may have
either good days or bad days or possibly even good or bad weeks, although this
does not appear to be as radical a fluctuation as in Relapse-Remitting MS.
Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis is different from Relapsing and Remitting MS and
Secondary Progressive MS, even from its initial symptoms, in that it
tends to show up in a person’s late thirties or early forties. Men are as likely as women to develop this
type of MS. With the Progressive form of MS, the initial scarring is
often seen in the spinal cord and not in the brain as compared to the scarring in most of the cases of Relapsing
and Remitting MS, where the scarring can be in either or both in the brain or on the spinal cord.
Because Primary Progressive MS often migrates
into the brain, but is less likely to actually damage different areas in the brain,
as compared to Relapsing and Remitting MS or Secondary Progressive MS, those that have
been diagnosed with Primary Progressive MS tend not to develop much of the
cognitive symptoms that occur in the other 2 forms of MS. Approximately 10 to 15% of all the cases of Multiple
Sclerosis are diagnosed as the Primary Progressive type of MS.
Primary Progressive MS or Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
is different
from Relapsing and Remitting MS, since it does not result in the larger
amounts
of scarring on the MRI test results that are performed to diagnose
MS. Progressive MS also does not have as
much of the periods of relapses and remissions as the Relapsing and
Remitting
form of MS does. The Progressive Multiple Sclerosis also appears to
continue to
worsen between periods of plateaus or remissions, whereas the
Relapse-Remitting form of MS has more periods of periodic improvements
and remissions.
Often the main treatment program for the ms treatment of primary progressive multiple sclerosis
for attempting to slow the progression of the disease is the use
of the injectable drug called Rebif. Since there are mixed
results from the use of the injectable drugs and even the newer tablet
forms of low dose drugs that are typically prescribed for the 4
different types of MS, more doctors are turning to
Complimentary
or Integrative methods for finding ways to reduce the symptoms of their
patients with primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
Complimentary
and Integrative medicine both use a combination of the various drug
treatments for MS, in addition to pursuing the use of alternative and
natural ways to help reduce the symptoms of MS.
Yoga for ms
is one of the alternative methods that has been used with primary
progressive Multiple Sclerosis with some notable success. MS acupuncture has also helped with reducing ms pain, reducing ms spasms, reducing ms insomnia, reducing ms stress, reducing the severity and frequency of ms attacks.
