Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Center

MS is a progressive and unpredictable disease of the central nervous system that disrupts communication between the brain and other parts of the body. The severity of the disease and its symptoms vary from person to person. The cause of MS is unknown and although there are treatments that can slow disease progression, at this time there is no known cure.

What It Is:

MS is a chronic disease of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. MS is a disorder that causes the immune system to attack the body’s own tissues. These attacks may be linked to an unknown trigger, perhaps a virus. It has been hypothesized that the virus is found in temperate climates, and exposure may occur in the early teenage years. Genetics play an unclear role. Although MS is not directly inherited, people are believed to inherit an increased susceptibility.

How It Manifests:

The nerve fibers in the central nervous system are protected and made more effective by a fatty substance, myelin, which helps the nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain. MS produces injury in the central nervous system when the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin. Areas of myelin damage are known as plaques, or lesions, and these eventually fill in with scar tissue. The name multiple sclerosis means “many scars.” MS can also cause destruction of the entire nerve.

The damage from lesions disrupts the transmission of nerve impulses from the central nervous system to the rest of the body causing a variety of symptoms. Common symptoms include visual changes, muscle weakness, problems with balance, fatigue, numbness, and emotional and cognitive changes but there are many others. MS has periods when the disease is quite active known as exacerbations. During exacerbations symptoms can be more pronounced, but usually subside and sometimes go away after an exacerbation.

Who Gets It:

MS is most commonly diagnosed in young adults. Eighty percent of MS patients develop MS between the ages of 16 and 45. Women are more frequently diagnosed with MS by at least 2 to 1. MS is the leading cause of disability in young women and the second leading cause of disability in young men. MS is more common among Caucasians than Blacks, Hispanics or Asians and has often been considered a disease that predominantly affects those of Northern European decent.

The worldwide prevalence is 2.7 million and over 400,000 Americans have been diagnosed with the disease. The incidence of MS is higher North of the 38^th parallel. In Colorado, we estimate that one in 580 people have MS. Colorado has always been thought to have an extremely high incidence of MS, perhaps because the 40^th parallel runs through Boulder. The incidence of MS increases with increased distance from the equator but the Colorado incidence appears to be similar to other areas of the same latitude.

How It Is Treated:

It has only been since 1993 that medications have been available to treat MS. Today there are 6 agents approved by the FDA for the treatment of MS but these drugs are only partially effective. The search for new agents with better efficacy is moving quickly and there are now over 30 new agents in clinical trials.

What It Costs:

MS has a significant emotional and physical impact on the quality of life of those who have it as well as their families. Seventy percent of people living with MS have a level of impairment from the disease that interferes with at least one essential daily task. After 10 years of disease, seventy percent of people with MS will not be working outside the home. After 15 years, fifty percent will require at least a cane to walk. Thirty percent will eventually need to use a wheelchair.

Because individuals are diagnosed and become symptomatic during their most productive years, the financial cost for the individual and for society can be staggering. Direct costs are high. The medications used to treat MS cost between $20,000 and $30,000 per year and the cost for treatment of a disease flare-up is estimated at $12,870. MS also has high indirect costs— from lost wages to under or unemployment. The direct and indirect costs of MS are now estimated at $57,500 per patient per year. The total lifetime costs associated with MS for an individual is estimated at $2.2 million.

Although the cost of treating MS is great, the cost of not treating MS is probably greater. An estimated seventeen point two percent of Coloradans do not have health insurance. It is also estimated that, nationally, one out of three adults without medical insurance has a chronic disease and many of them do not receive regular medical care. The Rocky Mountain MS Center estimates that at least twenty percent of the MS population in Colorado receives medical care through the Medicaid system and have very limited access to MS specialty care. Individuals who do not receive specialty care are less likely to be on a disease modifying therapy and are more likely to experience more serious levels of disability.

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