HOT off the CMSC Press: Fatigue often the first MS symptom

MONTREAL — Months or even years before demyelinating events are recognized, patients later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis often turn up in their doctors’ offices complaining of fatigue, a researcher said here.

Among patients receiving MS diagnoses after 2005, records of nearly 30% indicated that they had reported fatigue to their physicians beforehand, said Joseph Berger, MD, of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, in a presentation at the annual meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.

Berger noted that fatigue is a common symptom of MS, reported by many patients to be their biggest problem with the disease. Numerous previous studies have examined risk factors for fatigue and its relationship to disease progression following diagnosis.

• Caroline says: For anyone who experiences it, it's understand that MS fatigue is in a category all its own in terms of disabling side effects of MS. According to data presented at the annual meeting of the Consortium of MS Centers, 30% of patients receiving an MS diagnosis after 2005 indicated a physician visit for fatigue prior to being diagnosed with MS.
   

• Related Links:
• http://www.medpagetoday.com/clinical-context/MultipleSclerosis/26848…

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