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In the midst of a global pandemic that has somehow marked a stop in time, the reality is the world continues to spin. It seems that he does it in silence, until someone raises his voice and we remember, for example, that in Spain, every less than five hours, a person leaves the consultation with a confirmed diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, after weeks of medical tests and uncertainty. . Precisely these days, one of the best known 'influencers' in the country, María Pombo, is waiting for results. Through a video posted on her Instagram profile, she explains: "I have been going to the hospital a lot, I have had an MRI and a lumbar puncture." At the moment, myelitis has been seen. As she herself points out, «it is inflammation of the marrow. Multiple sclerosis often starts with those myelitis. "

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There is no medical confirmation yet, "I am anticipating the final diagnosis ... I am assuming that I have sclerosis because I want to mentalize." Her mother is one of the 50,000 people affected in Spain and of the 2.5 million patients worldwide, according to figures provided by the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) . "I feel very lucky to have the mother I have with the disease she has because if not, maybe I think the tingling I had is due to stress or because a nerve has been clamped." Fortunately, since she was very familiar with this disease from a young age, she immediately went to the specialist to assess her symptoms. "We caught him in time," although it is not yet a 100% diagnosis. "In the case that it is multiple sclerosis, it is a disease that has advanced a lot and has nothing to do with what it was 20 years ago to now."

" We have more than 13 different drugs to choose the best for each patient and medications with other mechanisms of action are beginning to be designed," says Rafael Arroyo, head of the Neurology service at the Quirón Salud University Hospital in Madrid . Although they do not cure, "they are capable of reducing the number of relapses and also of reducing the disability of the affected person." It is important to start the therapeutic approach as soon as possible.

In the words of the coordinator of the Study Group on Demyelinating Diseases of the SEN, Miguel Ángel Llaneza , "without adequate treatment, multiple sclerosis can generate a high degree of disability." It is a chronic and progressive condition in which «the patient's immune system attacks his central nervous system, producing inflammatory lesions in myelin, the envelope that protects the nerve fibers, causing defects in the conduction of nerve impulses ». Depending on the damaged area, the symptoms vary widely: sensitivity changes in the extremities, the face or the trunk, blurred or double vision, lack of balance or difficulty in walking or coordinating movements.

The causes are unknown, although there is a certain genetic predisposition, and in 70% of cases, it appears between 20 and 40 years of age. They are usually manifested in the form of outbreaks that can completely remit or leave functional sequelae. After traffic accidents, multiple sclerosis is the second leading cause of disability in the young Spanish adult.

Faces known as the actress Selma Blair (protagonist of films such as A very legal blonde), the ex-soccer player Javier Artero (who passed through Real Madrid and Málaga) or the basketball player Asier de la Iglesia (who has donated 100,000 euros for the research on multiple sclerosis and has just launched the Txispa craft beer for the same purpose), have contributed to giving visibility to the disease.

This year, in the midst of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, neurologists want to take advantage of World Multiple Sclerosis Day (May 30) to launch a message : «Do not abandon immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory treatments. The abrupt suppression of some drugs can facilitate the exacerbation of the disease, "says Arroyo. From what is known to date, "Coronavirus does not affect people with multiple sclerosis any more, nor is it more aggressive, and treatments do not appear to influence either contagion or severity." However, the SEN has launched a registry of patients with this disease infected by Covid-19.

On the other hand, patients ask for recovery of normality in health care. From Multiple Sclerosis Spain (EME), they point out "delayed diagnostic tests" and also at the start of treatment , "difficulties in accessing health and socio-sanitary care such as rehabilitation, less follow-up of patients" ...

In this sense, Arroyo considers «fundamental that the health system returns to proper functioning for these patients and others. It is the moment to make a management effort to put all the means so that we can make early diagnoses again ».

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