KARACHI, May 30: Multiple Sclerosis, a disease simultaneously impairing different parts of human body, remains largely undiagnosed in the country due to a lack of adequate diagnostic facilities
, Dr Shaukat Ali, Chairman, Neurology Department, Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, warned.
In his key-note speech at the launching ceremony of the MS Research and Patient Welfare Trust, on Sunday, he said the incidence of the disease was significant in major cities of country, where the relevant facilities as MRI were available and people could also afford these services.
According to him, it is in this very backdrop that the trust has been launched with the aim to create public awareness about the condition, as patients and their respective families are often made to suffer due to an indifference on the part of the community.
Since there was no permanent cure for the condition, requiring long-term management, it become often unaffordable for the patients, he said, and hoped that the trust would generate funds to assist such patients. He maintained that primary research on the disease would also be conducted in order to collect data of patients in Pakistan and develop a comprehensive database.
Mentioning that multiple sclerosis (MS) was an 'auto-immune' disease that effected brain and spinal cord, he said that it was identified to be the most common cause of chronic neurological disability among young adults, which usually began between the age of 20 to 40 years.
Under the condition, the body's defence mechanism was attacked, which led to deterioration of "myelin sheath," the sheathing which protected nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord.
"The process is based on a malfunctioning of the immune system that normally defends the body against infections," Dr Shaukat Ali, who is also the president of MSR & PWT, elaborated.
It was maintained that the condition could effect any part of the brain and its symptoms usually vary, however, in most of the cases it affected eyesight, he said, adding that in some cases it also caused speech disorder and difficulty in swallowing.
Poor concentration, limb weakness, unusual fatigue, muscle cramps, tingling sensations, memory problems, vertigo, intestinal and bladder disorder, besides sexual disorder were also cited to be some of the other symptoms of the condition.
However, it was reminded that proper diagnosis was a prerequisite to required medical intervention, that too by a qualified medical professional. The disease could also undermine employment prospects of a patient, he said.
On the occasion, the chief guest, Punjab Finance Minister Hasnain Drishak assured maximum support for the patients and relevant scientific research activities. Mian Mohammad Mansha Chura and Irfan Hafeez Malik also spoke on the occasion. -APP
