Factors That Can Determine The Severity of Multiple Sclerosis

People who have more sensory symptoms as opposed to motor or coordination symptoms tend to do better in the long run, but this is of course not an absolute statement or prediction. There is some good evidence that the time interval between the first and the second clinical attack may be predictive. That is, the longer it is from your first attack to the second attack suggests that you might have an ultimately milder course.

Age of onset is worth mentioning mainly because it can be confusing. Usually, people think that people who have early onset disease – in their twenties or thirties – tend to do better than people who have later onset disease. But it’s very important for those people listening who are in their forties and fifties who have maybe just been recently diagnosed and are concerned that being diagnosed at a later age means a bad thing. You know, very often that’s just the time they’re being diagnosed. And in fact, a careful history will reveal that they have had evidence of MS that may go back 10, 20, 30, years. Thus, the age of onset is something that’s a little bit harder to define.