What are the MS Types?

Multiple Sclerosis is generally broken down into four different disease types.

The categories are "relapse-remitting", "primary progressive", "secondary progressive", and "progressive-relapsing". Agreement over what constitutes each of these, however, has been somewhat confused in the medical community. Because of this, a proposal was published in the the medical journal Neurology in the spring of 1996.The proposal recommended that the following terms and definitions be accepted as the new international standards for MS types:

Relapse-Remitting

MS with clear relapses (also called acute attacks or exacerbations) with either full recovery, or with partial recovery and lasting disability. Between attacks there is no progression (or worsening) of the disease.

Primary Progressive

MS with steady progression (or worsening) from onset, with only occasional plateaus or minor recovery. This is a fairly uncommon disease course, and one that may involve different brain and spinal cord damage than do other forms of MS.

Secondary Progressive

MS that begins with a pattern of clear-cut relapses and recovery but becomes steadily progressive over time with continued worsening between acute attacks.

Progressive-Relapsing

A rare type of MS that is steadily progressive from onset but also has clear acute attacks.
 

As these terms become widely accepted, individuals with MS will have more confidence in talking with their doctors that they are discussing the same things and clinical trials of new treatments, which are often restricted to one disease type, will be more accurate in targeting their specific type.

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