One of the most uncommon symptoms of multiple sclerosis is vertigo, which occurs in the central nervous system and disrupts the patient's ability to maintain a steady‐state of balance. Multiple sclerosis patients with central positional vertigo as their first symptom are uncommon in the medical literature.
Causes of Dizziness and Vertigo With MS
It usually happens because of a lesion around your brainstem or on the small brain structure above it called the cerebellum, which helps control your balance. A new lesion could bring vertigo. An older lesion that grows can do it, too.
It rarely persists for a long time, but in some cases, it can take weeks or months to go away completely (which it usually does gradually). Some people, however, experience it chronically. Benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo (BPPV) is also possible.
However, it is considered one of the less common MS symptoms. The MS society suggests seeking a medical professional to determine the symptoms' causes. If you have a sudden bout of vertigo, an MS flare-up may have caused it. Other causes could be migraines, ear issues, or quick head and neck movements.
MS vertigo – how long does it last? It is rare for vertigo to persist for a long time. A typical episode of vertigo lasts for seconds or minutes. Severe vertigo (such as vertigo as a result of Ménière's disease, which is unrelated to MS) is uncommon, but it can be constant and last for a few days.
1) Vertigo and dizziness in multiple sclerosis is usually caused by a growth of an existing lesion or the appearance of a new lesion on the brain stem or cerebellum, the area in the brain that controls balance. 2) Vertigo can also be a symptom of a problem with the inner ear.
Here's where MS (typically) starts
You may experience eye pain, blurred vision and headache. It often occurs on one side and can eventually lead to partial or total vision loss. Spinal cord inflammation, or what's called partial transverse myelitis, is the second most common symptom Shoemaker typically sees.
MS affects the nerves in the brain. And this can cause hearing problems and other MS symptoms related to the ears. When MS damages the nerve fibres, or the myelin sheath around the outside, it can affect messages going to and from the ear.
Cranial nerve damage or inflammation could contribute to a feeling of pressure in your head. The optic nerve relays visual messages to the CNS so inflammation or damage to or near it can cause blurred vision, double vision, loss of vision, and pain.
Vertigo can be temporary or permanent, depending on the patient. Those who have suffered a head or neck injury might experience chronic or long-term vertigo. Treatment may be a combination of medications and physical therapy. Although very rare, your ENT specialist may choose to recommend surgery.
In many patients, over a span of 5 to 15 years, the attacks begin more indolently, persist more chronically and remit less completely, gradually transforming into a pattern of steady deterioration rather than episodic flares. This pattern is referred to as secondary progressive MS.
What is Autoimmune Vertigo? In autoimmune vertigo, the immune system malfunctions and attacks just the ear, the ear and some other body part like the eye, or the entire body. Damage to the inner ear structures can result in vertigo and/or hearing impairment.
Antivert (meclizine) is used to prevent and treat nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. Meclizine is an antihistamine that works by reducing the effects of natural histamine in the body. It can be prescribed for people with muscular sclerosis (MS).
Balance problems and falls are common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) but their cause and nature are not well understood. It is known that MS affects many areas of the central nervous system that can impact postural responses to maintain balance, including the cerebellum and the spinal cord.
Genetics. In 2015 scientists demonstrated a clear link between low vitamin D and MS. They found that people who naturally had lower levels of vitamin D (because of their genetics) were more likely to develop MS. Researchers in Oxford have also discovered that vitamin D could affect the way a gene linked to MS behaves.
These include fibromyalgia and vitamin B12 deficiency, muscular dystrophy (MD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), migraine, hypo-thyroidism, hypertension, Beçhets, Arnold-Chiari deformity, and mitochondrial disorders, although your neurologist can usually rule them out quite easily.
Balance: Balance problems typically result in a swaying and “drunken” type of gait known as ataxia. Sensory deficit: Some people with MS have such severe numbness in their feet that they cannot feel the floor or know where their feet are. This is referred to as a sensory ataxia.
The course of MS is unpredictable and can cause a variety of symptoms in different people. It may cause hearing problems and other symptoms that have to do with the function of the inner ear, such as hearing loss, tinnitus, balance problems, and a muffled or full feeling in the ear.
The MRI scan will not confirm a diagnosis of Ménière's disease, nor will it show which ear is affected or how severe the condition is. During initial investigation it is important to exclude many serious conditions which can cause vertigo or unilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
Characteristics of the MS gait pattern
You may walk more slowly, with shorter steps. You may lack in confidence when you walk – leading to hesitation and stumbling. You might feel unsteady when turning or walking. You might find placing your foot on the ground difficult.
MS is an immune-mediated disease affecting the brain and spinal cord, also called the central nervous system (CNS). MS can appear at any age but most commonly manifests between the ages of 20 and 40.
The early signs and symptoms of MS can be the same for women and men. One of the more obvious first signs of MS is a problem with vision, known as optic neuritis. This is often because it's a more concrete symptom as opposed to vaguer neurological symptoms like numbness and tingling.
MS can occur at any age, but onset usually occurs around 20 and 40 years of age. However, younger and older people can be affected.