NEW DELHI: The All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is all set to launch a new clinic, which will treat patients suffering from multiple sclerosis.
The clinic, which is expected to start operations next month, will be merged with neurology OPD. According to sources, the decision was taken considering the rise in the number of patients battling multiple sclerosis.
“Although this disease is deemed to be more prolific in the West than our part of the world, the number of cases is on the rise in India. It is a disease which mostly afflicts young, urban people. However, it is not talked about as much in India. It tends to affect people at an age when they are planning a career, marriage and children,” Dr MV Padma, a Neourologist at AIIMS who was conferred with the Padma Shri, told this newspaper.
Multiple sclerosis or MS is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
It is an immune-mediated disorder, in which the immune system incorrectly attacks healthy tissue in the CNS.
“This disease is widely reported in the urban and literate space and the trend is the same across the world. The disease is not uncommon in rural areas as well. In India, there are only a few MS registry centres and the treatment gap is humongous here. Nearly 9-10 in every one lakh people in India suffers from MS,” Padma added.
Initial symptoms include blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, and blindness and more.
“This is an auto immune disease. The spectrum is extremely heterogeneous. It may start with sudden loss of vision which may again come back. One may even suffer from sudden paralysis,” Padma said.
MS mostly affects people aged between 20 and 40 years. Since the symptoms are common, people don’t recognise the disease early.
It sneaks up on them and takes a major shape by the time they realise that they are afflicted with a serious disase.
“One may recover from the first and second strokes but may not survive the third. One may even be rendered bed-ridden or wheelchair-bound in the event of further attacks. In such cases, it not only affects a patient physically but also psychologically,” Padma said.
While MS is more common among women, it often remains untraced, as there are no diagnostic tests for the disease. MS doesn’t require any surgical treatment and can be cured through drugs and medicines.
“The invisible MS is the worst case. In such cases, the patients report the symptoms to doctors, and yet, the disease remains untraced. Some symptoms are very normal like fatigue and depression and doctors may think that the patient is exaggerating. That makes the disease difficult to trace. It is treatable if diagnosed at the right stage,” she said.
Tests needed
While MS is more common among women, it often remains untraced, as there are no diagnostic tests for the disease. MS doesn’t require any surgical treatment and can be cured through drugs and medicines. MS mostly affects people aged between 20 and 40 years. Since symptoms are common, people don’t often recognise the disease early. It sneaks up on them and takes a big shape by the time they realise what they are battling