Losing limb strength, blurred vision...Young Patient Many Multiple Sclerosis?

Oct 21, 2025

Losing limb strength, blurred vision...Young Patient Many Multiple Sclerosis?
photo courtesy of Daeansan Hospital



Multiple sclerosis is a representative autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system such as the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve. In other words, the body's immune system mistook its nerves for an enemy and attacked them, resulting in disease. In the process, nerves are damaged, and various physical symptoms and disorders appear. It occurs mainly in young people aged 20 to 40, and tends to occur more in women than in men.

The exact cause of the outbreak is not yet known. It is known that genetic and environmental factors work in combination. It is relatively common in whites and tends to have a low prevalence in Asians and blacks. In particular, the incidence tends to be high in the 45-60-degree latitude region, and it is estimated that there is a connection between small sunlight and low vitamin D levels. It is also believed that obesity, smoking, and excessive drinking in adolescence are also related.

The symptoms vary widely. The most common symptoms can be weak arms or legs, dull senses, and visual impairment. Because the central nervous system such as the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve is affected, scleritis, optic nerve, etc. may occur, and symptoms such as gait abnormalities, double vision (thing appears to be two), facial muscle paralysis, and aphasia may also be seen. Most patients complain of fatigue and experience cognitive decline, depression, and sleep disorders.




This disease often recurs with repeated improvement and deterioration of symptoms. In some patients, they initially show signs of recovery, then repeated recurrence persists, and permanent disorders such as blindness may also occur due to the accumulation of nerve damage.

Accurate differential diagnosis is important because there are many diseases with symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis. Therefore, listening to a medical history by a neurologist, neurological examination, brain MRI, cerebrospinal fluid test, induced potential test, and blood test should be combined to differentiate them from other diseases.

It is difficult to cure, but early diagnosis and treatment can sufficiently manage it. It can be largely divided into acute treatment and disease control treatment, and in acute treatment, high-dose steroid treatment can be performed for a short period of time to prevent worsening of symptoms, and plasma exchange is sometimes performed if there is no response. Disease control treatment aims to reduce the frequency of recurrence and delay the progression of neurological disorders, and there are various treatments such as injections and oral drugs.




Professor Baek Seol-hee of the Department of Neurology at Korea University Ansan Hospital said, `Multiple sclerosis is a disease that can be sufficiently controlled if it is accurately diagnosed early and continued treatment and management.' `In particular, with the rapid development of treatments recently, we can expect a better treatment environment.' He also stressed that `However, since there are many diseases with symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis, it is of paramount importance to receive accurate diagnosis and the most appropriate treatment through specialist treatment.'



Losing limb strength, blurred vision...Young Patient Many Multiple Sclerosis?
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.