My sister just told me the virus HTLV could be mistaken for MS, is this true?
86457
This is not an exact information. HTLV type II  has been associated with several cases of myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP)-like neurological disease, which can be mistaken for MS.
598787
Firstly, please don't worry about staying away from her - the person who told you this is insensitive and wrong. TB is infectious but only if the person has pulmonary (lung) TB and only if they are coughing lots of sputum (phlegm). If it was felt that you were at risk then your sister would already have been advised to stay away from you and may even have been admitted to hospital for isolation nursing. If you have all had your BCG (TB) vaccinations (usually at school) you will be safe. If not, then you will need to be treated with preventative medicines but this will be handled by TB specialist health professionals. Most TB cases are treated in the community and because of this there is an excellent system for screening and treating possible contacts such as family members of a sufferer. There are new strains of multi-drug resistant TB emerging, but if your sister had been diagnosed with one of these she would be in hospital and isolated. Even then you could visit her - you would just have to ake the same precautions the nursing and medical staff took such as gloves and masks. TB is considered cured after 6 months of treatment and although it does remain dormant in your system most people return to normal health and are not troubled again with it. The only reasons to worry about infection are if you are taking medicines that suppress your immune system such as anti-rejection drugs following transplant or chemotherapy treatment for cancer. Talk to your own doctor and he or she should be able to reassure you. I hope this helps you. Your sister will need love and TLC in the months to come - the medications she will be taking will probably make her feel unwell themselves. I hope she gets better soon.
1097395
I have never heard of a virus that announces itself.\nNormally, you only find out you have a virus if your virus software tells you or when you restart and cannot access anything without an emergency boot disk.\nIt sounds like you are may be the victim of a joke rather than a virus.\nBut to be safe, do not restart the computer, as this is the point that many viruses take hold.\nInstead, do as others have suggested and scan the computer with a well known virus software, or 2 or 3 (not all virus software is equal).\nAfter that, visit your computer manufacturer's website to download and install new bios software - - then restart the computer using the full shutdown/power off option.\nIf you have an IT pro (at your office), or if you know a computer geek (at home), get them to do all this for you.
621613
Well, you really need a doctor to help you. If you do not like the advice your current doctor is giving, then you should find another who may be able to help with your concerns. But if you have a doctor who thinks s/he knows what is wrong with you, they have prescribed medication to fix it, and you aren't taking it, then you need to address that. Because either the doctor is right and you need to find medication to help (either what has already been prescribed or an alternative), or the doctor is wrong and you need another. Just ignoring the doctor's advice and trying to self-diagnose is a good way to get yourself in trouble.\n\nAs for MS, it could be, but it is really hard to say. There is not really a definitive test for MS; it isn't like they can just give you a blood test and say, "Yup. MS." Unless things have changed since I last had to worry about it, a doctor that suspects MS can find indicators or warning signs, and if they are sufficiently concerned that it might be MS, they'll likely do an MRI to look for nerve damage. An MRI can pretty much confirm such a diagnosis, but can't really rule it out. Pain, numbness, tingling, tremors all could be signs of MS, or lots of other things.
118404
I am a nurse also.  MS is an autoimmune disease.  Being compromised, if you never had chicken pox or can't remember having them, I would stay away from someone with shingles.  If you can't stay away, do not use their sheets, or towels.  Their clothing,sheets, and towels must be kept separate from everyone elses, especially the one who has MS.
355046
Multiple Sclerosis\n\nMultiple sclerosis is a disease that may affect any area of the brain and spinal cord. Multiple Sclerosis does not affect nerve cells. It affects transmission of electrical signals to nerve cells. Multiple sclerosis is the most common cause of chronic neurological disability in young adults. It is not contagious.\n\nAs multiple sclerosis progresses, problems of sight become serious, such as dimness of vision, partial blindness, double vision, and the inability to control the movement of the eyeball.\n\nCauses?\n\nThe exact cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown. However, researchers believe multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory process that attacks a substance in the nervous system called myelin.\n\nMyelin is an important substance. It surrounds the cells in the nervous system and facilitates rapid transmission of signals up and down neurons. When myelin is broken down, nerve impulses travel slower, causing symptoms that are characteristic of Multiple Sclerosis.\n\nSymptoms?\n\nMultiple Sclerosis causes symptoms and signs that vary unpredictably over decades, and may relapse, progress, or undergo spontaneous remission.\n\nSymptoms vary greatly depending on the site of inflammation. In general they affect sensory or motor function causing patients to experience fatigue, numbness, tremor, loss of vision, pain, paralysis, loss of balance, and bladder and bowel dysfunction, painful muscle spasms and numbness in the entire body. Men may experience erectile dysfunction. Women may have a loss of libido or difficulty reaching orgasm. Multiple sclerosis attacks can last for more than 24 hours.\n\nSymptoms may be triggered by exercise, exertion, or with increased body temperatures. When symptoms are triggered by increased body temperatures, they usually cease when the body temperature is returned to normal.\n\nMultiple Sclerosis in the News\n\nNew research finds there may be a link between a common virus (Epstein Barr) and multiple sclerosis.\n\nEpstein Barr sometimes causes mononucleosis, and researchers at Harvard report that women who show signs of having been exposed to the virus — even those likely exposed as children — appear to have a much higher chance of developing multiple sclerosis, as much as four times as great as women without the exposure.\n\nBut the researchers caution the correlation does not mean that Epstein Barr causes MS, a very serious nerve illness.\n\nStatistics?\n\n* Multiple Sclerosis affects women twice as much as it affects men\n* An Identical twin of a person who has Multiple Sclerosis have a 25-percent chance of getting the disease\n* There are approximately 350,000 people in the US with Multiple Sclerosis\n* There are about 2.5 million people worldwide with Multiple Sclerosis.\n* Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system which affects Canadians more frequently than most other countries in the world.\n* Multiple Sclerosis can cause loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis\n* Multiple Sclerosis was first identified and described by a French neurologist, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, in 1868.\n* Sclerosis means scars...these are the plaques or lesions in the brain and spinal cord\n* Life span is not significantly affected by Multiple Sclerosis.\n* Many of the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis can be successfully managed and treated.
1012068
run a check on Microsoft site.enter the names in the virus search.you should get your answer there.
372811
Yes MS is genetic, in a sense however there is no proof of a direct inheritance because of genes. the first hyperlink is just general information and the second is more detailed toward your question
1118124
I was diagnosed with MS May 4, 2005.  It started in Nov. 2002 with optic neuritis (i didn't know that's what it was at the time).  Then in August 2004 I developed a headache that lasted for about 5 months, followed with dizziness/vertigo.  I had a check-up, an MRI, heart echo, 1,001 blood tests, and finally a spinal tap (LP).  It's funny, I thought by now I would have accepted it, but it is still the first thing on my mind when I wake up, and the last thing on my mind when I go to sleep.  It's a big blow to get a diagnosis like this one.  I was 30 when I was dx'd, like most people.  There's too much to type here.  My e-mail is: multiplesclerosissux@yahoo.com if you wanna talk!  My name is Brian.
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MS is not strictly a hereditary disease. However, increasing scientific evidence suggests that genetics may play a role in determining a person's susceptibility to MS. Some populations, such as the Roma, Inuit, and Bantus, never get MS. The indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Japanese, and other Asian peoples have very low incidence rates. It is unclear whether this is due mostly to genetic or environmental factors.\n\nIn the population at large, the chance of developing MS is less than a tenth of one percent. However, if one person in a family has MS, that person's first-degree relatives—parents, children, and siblings—have a one to three percent chance of getting the disease.\n\nFor identical twins, the likelihood that the second twin may develop MS if the first twin does is about 30%; for fraternal twins (who do not inherit identical gene pools), the likelihood is closer to that for non-twin siblings, or about 4%. The fact that the rate for identical twins both developing MS is significantly less than 100% suggests that the disease is not entirely genetically controlled. Some (but definitely not all) of this effect may be due to shared exposure to something in the environment, or to the fact that some people with MS lesions remain essentially asymptomatic throughout their lives.\n\nFurther indications that more than one gene is involved in MS susceptibility comes from studies of families in which more than one member has MS. Several research teams found that people with MS inherit certain regions on individual genes more frequently than people without MS. Of particular interest is the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) or major histocompatibility complex region on chromosome 6. HLAs are genetically determined proteins that influence the immune system.\n\nThe HLA patterns of MS patients tend to be different from those of people without the disease. Investigations in northern Europe and America have detected three HLAs that are more prevalent in people with MS than in the general population. Studies of American MS patients have shown that people with MS also tend to exhibit these HLAs in combination-that is, they have more than one of the three HLAs-more frequently than the rest of the population. Furthermore, there is evidence that different combinations of the HLAs may correspond to variations in disease severity and progression.\n\nStudies of families with multiple cases of MS and research comparing genetic regions of humans to those of mice with EAE suggest that another area related to MS susceptibility may be located on chromosome 5. Other regions on chromosomes 2, 3, 7, 11, 17, 19, and X have also been identified as possibly containing genes involved in the development of MS.\n\nThese studies strengthen the theory that MS is the result of a number of factors rather than a single gene or other agent. Development of MS is likely to be influenced by the interactions of a number of genes, each of which (individually) has only a modest effect. Additional studies are needed to specifically pinpoint which genes are involved, determine their function, and learn how each gene's interactions with other genes and with the environment make an individual susceptible to MS.
693283
I don't know off the top of my head, but try looking here. It has loads of good and useful virology info.\nhttp://www-micro.msb.le.ac.uk/
1110821
I was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis in 1999.  Since that time, I have done extensive research on the disease.  I could answer almost any question someone would want to know.  Please contact me at blackfootj@cableone.net.
889774
I don't think your MS will have anything to do with the results of a polygraph test. It shouldn't cause another exacerbation either.
142121
My husband received a stem cell transplant for Lymphoma, not MS.  I can help with questions regarding the collection process, but I would imagine the transplant itself would vary, since the diseases vary.\n\nThe stem cell transplant worked with my husband, and he has been lymphoma-free for 6 years.  If no one else can give you the info you need, you can email me and I can help as much as possible.  But you can probably accompany your brother to his physician and get more valuable advice than here on Answers.  Good luck.
1104309
Nope, sure haven't. It is suspected to be an auto-immune disease.
1151960
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy - this is a very rare condition caused by a virus & it usually only occurs in people with AIDs or who received organ transplants. If you don't have AIDs & have never received a transplant - I'd get a 2nd opinion.\n\nPML is like another disease, multiple sclerosis, but it progresses faster. Do some research on MS to learn about it.
81265
/Get check for Parkinsons and Lupus.  I have personally seen someone who was diagnosed for MS, but her movements look more like Parkinson's.\nRN